


Into the Fire

by Dorktapus42



Series: Come Together-verse [3]
Category: Just a lot of youtube and stuff, Matpat- Game Theory/Film Theory/GT Live, Sanders Sides (Web Series), Youtubers (Jacksepticeye and Markiplier), natewantstobattle
Genre: Chase explains it best., Come Together Universe, Fire, Fusions, I was really bored and this just came to me, Lots of yelling at people, Not all fusions- the plot deformed kinda, Other, Possibility of death. I don't know yet, So yeah this is a thing now, This somehow became a series???, Vidcon adventures await, Warnings before chapters. This does get pretty violent and inner demons-y
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-17
Updated: 2019-01-07
Packaged: 2019-07-13 15:11:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 19
Words: 34,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16020491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dorktapus42/pseuds/Dorktapus42
Summary: “So what you’re saying is that you got sent on a wild goose chase, reenacted FNAF 4, found out that we can fuse like in Steven Universe, and came home?”“P̸r̸e̸t̶t̶y̴ ̶m̴u̴c̴h̶.̵”Chase let out a long sigh.An Ego Fic. Also a series, if you're ready for lots of angst, descriptions, and the possibility of death. I'm sorry to these characters in advance. Read if you want to.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly don't know what this is. Oh well! I hope you enjoy!

Smoke was thick in the air. His feet burned from the hot metal and concrete strewn on the ground. 

“Anti?” He called.  _ Please be okay please be okay... _

“J̵a̷c̶k̷!̷”

Anti ran towards him, wincing as he saw his creator’s shoes melting to shreds in the rubble. He picked him up, eye lighting up as he used more and more of his strength. 

“A̷r̸e̵ ̴y̴o̶u̵ ̴o̷k̴a̷y̷?̴ ̶W̶h̵e̷r̴e̴’̶s̷ ̷M̴a̴r̵k̴?̴”

“I don’t know- we were fighting and-” Jack coughed and held onto Anti with slightly trembling arms. “I saw Dark and Wilford- are they okay? What about the-”

“S̸h̶h̵…̵.̵ ̶y̸o̸u̵’̷r̵e̷ ̷f̶i̴n̸e̶.̵ ̴W̵e̷’̷r̴e̷ ̴f̷i̷n̵e̷.̷ ̶W̸e̸’̴l̷l̴ ̷m̴a̵k̴e̵ ̷s̵u̷r̸e̴ ̷e̷v̵e̶r̸y̵o̵n̵e̸ ̸i̶s̶ ̸s̵a̴f̴e̷.̸ ̴Y̸o̵u̴ ̸j̸u̶s̵t̴ ̸h̶a̷v̴e̷ ̶t̶o̷ ̶s̸t̵a̸y̷ ̴c̷a̶l̵m̴.̵ ̵H̵o̴l̸d̷ ̶o̴n̷ ̸t̴i̴g̷h̶t̸,̶ ̵o̷k̸a̷y̴?̶” Anti’s voice was strained.  _ What if his creator died? What would happen to him and the others then-  _

“Okay, okay- hey isn’t that-”

Anti’s ears strained and he heard a familiar baritone. Mark! He ran, feet not feeling the heat from the wreckage even though he was barefoot. He skidded to a stop, Jack’s arms hanging limply around his neck.  _ Where is he where is he where is that fucker- _

Through the smoke he saw a humanoid shape. Mark! He shielded Jack and ran through the flames, emerging to see Mark looking around and calling for Jack. 

“Jack?! Jack, you there?!” 

Anti scooped Jack up closer and ran over, ignoring Jack’s hissing in slight pain as he squeezed him too tight in his rush. 

“M̶a̵r̴k̴!̸ ̵W̷h̵e̷r̴e̸’̸s̶ ̸W̷i̶l̴f̵o̸r̴d̶ ̸a̵n̶d̸ ̷D̴a̴r̸k̵?̷ ̸W̶e̴ ̶n̷e̶e̷d̴ ̷t̵o̸ ̴g̷e̷t̴ ̴o̷u̷t̸ ̶o̷f̶ ̶h̷e̶r̸e̴!̷”

“Anti?! Oh god what happened to-”

“H̵e̶’̴s̴ ̸f̸i̴n̷e̵-̶ ̶h̵i̴s̵ ̵s̶h̵o̵e̸s̵ ̸w̷e̵r̴e̷ ̵m̴e̸l̸t̶i̸n̶g̷.̸ ̵Y̶o̸u̴ ̸d̶o̶n̷’̷t̶ ̸l̵o̵o̶k̴ ̵a̶n̸y̴ ̶b̵e̸t̸t̸e̴r̵-̵” 

“I think I saw Wilford over there- holy shit ow!” He hopped on one foot, almost jumping into the two of them. Anti tried to catch him but  _ he had Jack in his hands and there was no space- _

 

He felt as if a great weight lessened from his shoulders and he scooped up Mark, ignoring the man’s surprised shouts. “L͌ȅẗ́’͒s̐ ̈́ğe̓t̆ ͗ýoủ ̈ơu̒t̃ ̏o͐f͑ ̋h́e͝r͠e͒ ̕M̂a͛r̊k͋ǐm̕ǒo̽.” He ran with his passenger, faintly wondering somewhere in the back of his head why he had sounded slightly different. Must be the smoke. He took a deep breath, feeling the smoke tickle his lungs. “H̓E͒Y͠ ̄A̍S̒S͆H̊O͝L̓E͝S̑!͑ LË́T̂’̊S̛ ̄G͘O̾!͑” His voice echoed for a solid second or two and Wilford came out of the smoke propping Dark on his shoulder, who seemed almost unconscious. 

“Where’s Jack?”

“W̽h̆ǎd̀d̅ãy͝a̋ ̓mĕȁń ͊wh̚e̔r̽e̚’͑š-” The math suddenly caught up in his- their?- head. “W̆h̚åt͛ ̿t͒h͝e͌ ̚S̄H̓ÌT̄?͠! ̚H̏o̓l̈y̔ ̀H͑ẼL̍L͊!́” He was so surprised he almost dropped Mark. “I̍s̐ t̍h̆i̕ś ͐a̎ ̈́t̒h̏ìn̊g̓ ͋ẇe ̃ča̾n͝ ̛d͑ȍ?̚ ̈Fūs͆e͋ ̕w̄ḯt̽h͐ ͒o̒u̚r̛ ̂c̅rë́a͝t̄ö́ŕs?͠!” 

Dark flopped on Wilford’s shoulder, mumbling something. Wilford shifted the man’s weight as Dark tried to stand. 

“Whatever that is, we have to get home. Now.”

Anti wanted to scream. “N̈́͗̉ȯ̈́͐ ̛̀̂Ŝ͑͒H̔̆̋Ì̛͊T̿̅̚!͂̅̐”

“Settle down sport. You could have gotten out of here at any time you know.” He set Dark down against a piece of rubble and grabbed Mark. “I can only bring three people through my portals, so we’re going to have to do that too champ.” 

Mark’s face paled as he tried to struggle. “WhAT?! NO!” He kicked his legs.

“Do ya wanna get out or not? Besides- You’re probably going to end up fronting. You’re the dominating personality.” 

“But I can’t do portal shit! Why can’t I do it with Dark ya jackass?!” He had a point. Dark struggled to his feet, lurching forwards. WIlford dropped Mark on his ass and grabbed his fellow Ego. 

“Feel free to try. It might take a lot out of you and I don’t know who will-”

“T̅͗r̈́̍y̅̀.”

They looked at him in surprise. He finished helping Mark up, pushing the man towards his alter-ego, and Mark stumbled against Wilford, causing them all to stumble in a chain reaction. Mark grabbed Dark and supported him, wincing when his shoes started to burn and bubble. Dark staggered onto his creator, wincing and putting a hand to a gash in his suit. 

|Mark- I don’t-|

“Shhh- You’ll be fine.”

|I was worried about you, you jackass.| Dark grumbled, even though his heart didn’t seem to be into it. He leaned into the man more as red and blue seemed to emanate from the two, lines blurring and blending together-

Mark stood dressed in a red blazer and with his red hair. His eyes were biacromial- one a harsh red, the other an unnatural blue. He looked over to Wilford. “ **Happy? Let’s get out of here.** ” His voice seemed to be slightly deeper than usual, but that was it. 

Wilford grabbed both of their arms and they disappeared with a poof of pink glitter and burnt caramel. 

They appeared in their living room, immediately falling apart and landing on the carpet. Dark was up in a flash of blue and red, Wilford glancing over towards the man, who stood tall in response. 

Anti scrambled towards Jack, pulling off the remains of his shoes. “Y̷o̴u̵r̸ ̵f̵e̵e̷t̸!̸ ̵T̵h̷e̶y̷- ̴h̷o̶w̶ ̶t̴h̶e̴ ̷f̴u̴c̵k̷?̵!̶”

Jack sat up, almost headbutting Anti. “What?! What happened?” 

Anti let go of his leg, leaving it to fall to the floor with a thump. “I̶t̸’̶s̵…̵ ̶f̶i̴n̴e̸.̶ ̴H̴o̶w̸ ̷t̸h̷e̴ ̷f̸u̶c̴k̸ ̸i̴s̷ ̴i̸t̵ ̸f̷i̸n̶e̷?̴!̵ ̷Y̷o̶u̴r̷ ̷f̶e̴e̵t̸ ̸s̵h̵o̶u̵l̶d̶ ̵b̴e̵ ̸l̷u̶m̷p̴s̸ ̷o̷f̴ ̶c̷h̶a̶r̸c̶o̶a̸l̴ ̵a̵n̷d̵ ̴s̶h̸i̵t̸!̶”̶

“What the hell is happening?!” They turned around at the sound, Anti getting up in a blur of green and pulling Jack to his feet. “Where the fuck have you been?!” Mark scrambled to his feet and his behind the others. Aw, thanks. 

“Chase-”

“Not one word from you and you’re gone! Not a note, not a warning-”

“W̸e̴-̸”

“You just go galavanting off to who the fuck knows where, taking the creators with you- and coming back hurt?! What the FUCK?!”

“Listen-”

“No you listen to me buster: you’re going to all sit down and tell me what the fuck happened of you’re going to get a shoe to the face  _ got it? _ ”

Jameson walked over and one of his gloves appeared holding a pair of shoes. He handed them to Jack then looked at Mark’s feet, judging shoe size. 

“I said,  _ got it _ ?”

They all nodded nervously. 

“Sorry Chase- we just-”

“Ah ah ah! No excuses. Sit on the couch and spill.”

Chase was such a dad. Even when they didn’t want him to be. 

So they sat on the couch. They weren’t idiots. Jameson’s gloved handed Mark a pair of shoes and the man himself looked at Anti’s feet, making sure there were no injuries. 

“I̴’̵m̸ ̵f̵i̴n̸e̵ ̷J̸a̴m̸e̴s̸.̶” The man leveled him a stare and he was silent once more. JJ scoured his feet while they told their tale. 

“So we got a note from Mare-”

|And you listened like an idiot-|

“And the five of us were together for the day so we did it together-”

“Dark and I teleported us there since I can only transport three people-”

“And we arrived on the roof of this building-”

“A̵n̶d̷ ̸n̴o̶b̷o̴d̸y̵ ̶w̴a̵s̵ ̷t̷h̴e̶r̶e̵ ̷s̴o̷ ̸w̸e̶ ̴f̵i̷g̷u̸r̷e̴d̴ ̵o̸u̷t̴ ̵t̸h̴a̷t̴ ̵t̷h̷i̵s̵ ̷w̴a̶s̷ ̸a̷ ̵t̶r̷i̶c̷k̷-̷”

|Like I hadn’t know that already but you idiots never listen-|

“And the building started to go up in flames-”

“And we were separated by the falling rubble-”

|I was scratched by a piece of rubble as I fell so Wilford ended up supporting me-|

“It was more than a scratch but okay-”

“I̵ ̷f̵o̵u̴n̶d̸ ̵J̵a̵c̴k̴ ̵a̴n̴d̴ ̶h̴i̵s̷ ̶f̶e̴e̷t̷ ̷w̴e̵r̵e̷ ̷g̸e̷t̸t̶i̷n̸g̶ ̷b̴u̷r̴n̴e̴d̶ ̸b̸y̶ ̶t̷h̸e̵ ̴h̶o̸t̶ ̸r̷u̴b̶b̴l̶e̶ ̶s̷o̶ ̸I̷ ̷c̷a̶r̷r̵i̶e̸d̸ ̵h̸i̸m̵-̵”

“How you walk around in bare feet makes no sense-”

“They found me and my feet were burning too so I tried to put some of my weight on him and somehow he fused and caught me? Like what the fuck?”

“S̷o̸ ̷a̵p̸p̸a̶r̷e̴n̴t̴l̵y̷ ̴w̷e̶ ̴c̴a̶n̵ ̵f̵u̸s̶e̸ ̴w̸i̵t̷h̸ ̶o̶u̵r̷ ̷c̸r̸e̴a̶t̵o̸r̷s̵-̸”

“And Wilford was the only one in good enough shape to transport people so Dark and I fused too-”

|And we teleported here and unfused.|

“And here we are.”

There was silence. “So what you’re saying is that you got sent on a wild goose chase, reenacted FNAF 4, found out that we can fuse like in Steven Universe, and came home?”

“P̸r̸e̸t̶t̶y̴ ̶m̴u̴c̴h̶.̵”

Chase let out a long sigh. Jameson patted his arm. “I guess that’s not the weirdest thing the three of you have done together. As for the two of you- you didn’t know we could fuse?’”

“How the fuck did you know we could fuse?!”

“The Sanders have known that for months! It wasn’t that long of a shot-”

“They can fuse? What the hell?!”

“Yes, and they can fuse with each other because they are inherently aspects of his personality please try to keep up.”

“I̴’̵m̷ ̷s̸o̸r̴r̸y̸,̵ ̸i̵t̵’̸s̵ ̸j̵u̸s̸t̷ ̷t̵h̸a̴t̶ ̴n̴o̵n̶e̶ ̴o̸f̴ ̸u̸s̶ ̸k̶n̴e̵w̶ ̵a̷n̵y̵t̴h̸i̸n̸g̵ ̵a̷b̷o̴u̸t̸ ̶t̴h̶i̶s̸?̴!̴”̸

“Does that mean you guys can fuse with each other?”

|Can everybody calm down?!| Dark sighed.

“Wilford- how the fuck did you know that much about this anyway?!”

“Come on Darky- you should have known about this! You are literally-” Wilford was waving his gun around. Dark caught it. 

|We will talk about this later Wilford.|

_ *Can everyone please settle down?!* _

They quieted as Jameson’s voice in their heads. Gloves appeared, sensing his emotions. He waved them away. Nobody else seemed to notice. 

_ *I know that there’s a lot that we’ve learned today, but let’s just calm down. We can discuss this more tomorrow, can’t we? We can get everyone here together so we won’t have to explain this more than once, and you all can have some processing time. Jack, you and Mark said that you’d be around for the next couple days right?* _

“Yeah- we’ll be here for the rest of the week.” Jameson clapped his hands together, a smile on his face. 

_ *Swell! We have plenty of time to get everything settled. That settles it. Now if you will excuse me, I’m going to go ask Host if he wants to start his piano lessons- Dark, did he ask you about that?* _

|Yes he did. We were going to have a lesson with the three of us sometime next week.|

* _ Perfect! I’d better go work on my skills- I’m kind of rusty. I’ll see you chaps around! _ *

He walked off, disappearing around the corner. They kind of just sat there. 

“You can play the piano?”

“I can’t play the piano so how can-”

They stopped when they realized they had spoken at the same time. 

That was a mystery for another point. 

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My brain wanted this to be longer so I made it longer. I might make this into an actual series- tell me what you guys think! I have some ideas but input would help a lot if you feel like adding some! Have a great day!

They were sitting around the meeting table amidst stunned silence. 

“Wait- we can do zat?” Schneep had stopped in his frantic scribbles for the moment to listen.

Bing and Google looked just as stunned. “But we are androids- how does that work?!”

|I suppose we’re all just creative energy anyway… but how does that explain the whole fusing with our creators- I mean, we are just all people being acted out on camera who somehow developed consciousnesses…|

“Dark- you know what I’m not even going to try stopping you. Have fun buddy. But yes- how does that work? I know the Void has wavy lines on reality at best, but this is ridiculous.”

“Hey Chase- you said you knew about fusing before we did- how exactly?”

Chase looked up from where he was taking notes on his phone. “Uh- You know how I hang with Patton a lot? I went over there a month or so ago and they were just chilling and watching a movie with a guy named Dr Pecan or something? So I asked him where Logan and Patton where and he just kind of… split? Anyway- Logan had quite a fun time filling me in, and we theorized that we could all do it. I didn’t have a way to confirm it until the five of you came through the portal yesterday.”

Anti spun a knife on the table. “Dr̶ ̷P̷e̶c̴a̶n̷?̸ ̴T̴h̴a̴t̷ ̷h̴a̷s̷ ̴g̴o̶t̷ ̸t̴o̷ ̵b̷e̵ ̵t̶h̶e̵ ̷s̸t̶u̶p̴i̶d̴e̸s̴t̷ ̶n̷a̶m̷e̷-̷”

“It’s Dr. Picani actually.” Host spoke up. 

“O̷h̵,̴ ̸s̸o̵ ̷y̵o̸u̸ ̸k̶n̵e̸w̷ ̵a̸b̴o̴u̶t̸ ̵t̶h̵i̴s̶ ̶t̵o̵o̵?̴!̸ ̸W̸h̴a̶t̴ ̶t̸h̵e̷ ̶h̵e̵l̸l̵-̵ ̶w̸h̴y̵ ̶a̸r̸e̷ ̵w̷e̶ ̸a̷l̵w̷a̷y̵s̷ ̸t̵h̵e̷ ̶l̴a̴s̶t̷ ̴p̶e̴o̴p̵l̷e̴ ̶t̵o̶ ̷k̸n̷o̵w̸ ̴s̴h̸i̸t̶?̶!̵”

“So what does it feel like?” They started at Robbie’s voice. He rarely got into these discussions- wait- “I’m not an idiot. I’m just dead. So what’s it like?” Mark shook his head slightly but kind of gestured to Dark. 

|I don’t remember much- Anti? What about you?|

“̶I̴ ̵f̷e̷l̴t̸ ̴l̵i̶k̶e̴ ̷m̵e̷.̷ ̶N̵o̵t̷h̶i̷n̷g̶ ̸d̷i̷f̵f̸e̶r̸e̸n̸t̴-̵”̴

“Well I felt like I was a whole lotta nothin’, so that must be so nice for you.” Anti blinked. 

“W̴e̶l̵l̵ ̵m̶a̴y̶b̵e̴ ̶t̴h̶a̴t̷ ̶w̵a̷s̶ ̷b̸e̷c̵a̷u̸s̶e̶ ̸I̵ ̷w̵a̸s̸ ̷f̷r̸o̸n̷t̸i̵n̵g̵!̵”

“Guys-”

|No- let them talk.|

Mark stared at Dark, who had a thoughtful expression on his face. 

|Trust me.|

Mark put his hands up but relented, slumping back in his chair. JJ tilted his head and stood up. He walked out of the room before anyone could say anything. 

“H̴e̵y̶-̴ ̵t̴h̸e̸ ̴f̸u̸c̵k̸ ̸d̶i̵d̴ ̴J̸a̷m̷e̵s̷ ̶g̴o̷?̴” 

JJ came back with a man they had never seen before wearing a brown cardigan and a pink tie. Wilford kicked over a rolling chair. The man simply pulled out a notebook and a carrot pen and scribbled down stuff as he sat down. He looked up. 

“Don’t stop for me. Keep talking.”

Anti looked over at Jack. “W̴e̴l̷l̶ ̸i̶f̷ ̸y̷o̷u̶-̴”̴ 

The man held up his pen. “-And I’m going to have to stop you right there. Everybody except the two in question out please.” There was silence and everyone unanimously stepped out. The man rolled closer. “ So what exactly is the issue?” Anti crossed his arms.

“H̸e̴’̵s̶ ̴b̵e̵i̸n̸g̸ ̷a̵n̴ ̵a̴s̴s̷!̷”

“Well he’s being a bratty bitch!” Jack retaliated.

“W̶e̷l̷l̷ ̶i̸f̴ ̶y̴o̵u̴ ̸w̴a̵n̷t̷ ̸t̸o̵ ̸t̵h̸r̵o̴w̴ ̴s̵t̴o̴n̸e̵s̷-̶”

“Stop! One at a time, facts please.”

They stared at each other. 

“W̶e̸ ̸f̶u̸s̶e̷d̸ ̸a̸n̶d̶ ̶h̸e̴’̷s̵ ̸c̵o̵m̴p̶l̴a̵i̶n̴i̸n̷g̷ ̴b̷e̵c̵a̶u̸s̴e̸ ̷h̸e̸ ̴w̶a̶s̶n̶’̴t̷ ̴i̶n̵ ̴f̷r̸o̷n̷t̷ ̷b̸e̵c̸a̵u̵s̴e̸ ̵h̴e̷’̶s̸ ̶t̴h̴e̶ ̶c̶r̴e̸a̷t̷o̶r̵ ̶a̸n̵d̸ ̸M̷a̷r̸k̸ ̶w̶a̵s̵ ̵i̵n̷ ̵f̵r̵o̶n̷t̷.̸”

“We fused and I’m being a selfish a-hole.”

The man raised a brow. “So you feel lesser?”

“What?! No-” He got a death glare from both of them. “Well… yeah...”

“Explain what happened in detail. You first, then Anti.”

Jack swallowed. “Uh- we were separated when the building collapsed, and my feet started to burn from the rubble. Anti ran over and picked me up, and we ran to go find Mark, who was in the same situation. He hopped around trying to get his feet to stop hurting, and… I guess I just suddenly felt heavier? Like I was shackled to the earth-” He shuddered. “I didn’t have any control over my body- I just kind of watched as Anti did all that stuff.”

“So you felt powerless?” The man was biting his pen in thought. 

“Well… yeah.”

Anti just sat there, stunned. “W̵e̵l̵l̷ ̴s̵h̶i̷t̷.̵ ̴I̴ ̶h̵a̸d̷ ̵n̸o̴ ̶i̷d̸e̵a̶.̸ ̸T̶h̷e̶ ̶w̵h̶o̵l̷e̸ ̷t̴i̸m̵e̶ ̵I̷ ̵f̴e̵l̷t̷ ̸l̵i̴g̶h̴t̴e̵r̷,̴ ̷I̵-̴ ̵I̴ ̷d̵i̵d̸n̵’̵t̷ ̷k̸n̸o̸w̸.̸ ̷G̸o̶d̸ ̷I̴’̶m̵ ̴s̶u̸c̴h̶ ̶a̸n̶ ̷i̶d̴i̷o̸t̶-̴” He buried his fingers in his hair, not seeing Jack’s face look confused as why his nails were longer and red, the color bleeding into his extended fingertips. 

“Well if I may suggest a solution?” They both looked up, forgetting for a minute he was still there. The man gave a warm smile. “Talk more. Try this whole thing again when you have a higher level of trust in each other.”

“Oh, uh- thanks I guess.” The man stood up to leave. 

“Wait! I didn’t catch your name!” 

The man quirked a grin and mimed tilting a hat. “Dr. Picani at your service. See you two kiddos around, okay?” The man walked out into the hall, hair flopping every step he took. 

They both just sat there in shock as the others filed in with slightly confused faces. 

_ “W̸e̶l̸l̷ ̵h̴o̸l̴y̷ ̴s̸h̵i̶t̸.̵” _

“What? What happened?” Mark went over and sat between the two of them, ruffling Anti’s hair as he passed behind him, causing him to hiss and curl in on himself, hands fidgeting with the knife currently embedded in the table. 

“Hey Anti?” 

He looked over at Jack, one eyebrow cocked. “W̴h̶a̶t̷?̷”

“Why are your fingers longer and redder?” He gave him his signature lopsided feral grin. 

“A̴l̵l̴ ̷t̴h̶e̸ ̵b̶e̶t̸t̶e̷r̴ ̸t̵o̵ ̷s̶t̵a̶b̸ ̶y̷o̵u̶ ̶w̷i̵t̵h̷ ̴m̵y̵ ̶d̸e̸a̶r̴.̷~̷”̴ Jack swallowed nervously, not entirely sure whether he was kidding or not.

|Anti, be nice.|

He glared at the man, fingers twitching, before sighing deeply and tossing the knife across the room and into a dart board. “Y̶e̵a̸h̶,̷ ̷y̸e̶a̶h̴.̶ ̷T̵h̶e̵y̴ ̸j̸u̷s̸t̴ ̵d̶o̶ ̵t̵h̴a̷t̶.̷”

“Huh. Good to know.” He sent him a blinding smile and disappeared in a swirl of pixels. 

He needed to think.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Well this is bullshit. 

Total bullshit. 

How the hell was he supposed to fucking talk to the guy if all he did was whine and flinch every time he got close?

This is bullshit. He tossed a knife into the wall with force enough to rattle the tank in the room. Sam bumped the glass with an annoyed expression. 

“S̴o̴r̸r̸y̶ ̶b̶u̷d̶d̵y̶.” He pulled the knife out of the wall with a glower.

This day was bullshit.

Sam hovered out of the tank and sat on his shoulder, causing Anti to shiver. “U̴g̶h̷,̵ ̷S̸a̸m̸!̶ ̶Y̷o̴u̸’̴r̷e̶ ̵a̴l̷l̴ ̵w̸e̸t̷ ̴a̷n̶d̵ ̵s̴h̷i̴t̷!̴”

Sam squeaked and flew over to the door, hopping on the handle a few times. Anti’s face fell a little. “S̵o̶r̴r̸y̸ ̴b̸u̶d̶,̷ ̵b̸u̷t̴ ̶t̶h̶e̵y̴ ̴d̸o̵n̴’̶t̷ ̸k̷n̷o̶w̶ ̴y̵o̴u̷ ̷e̶x̵i̸s̵t̸.̵ ̵I̸ ̸k̸n̶o̵w̷ ̸t̷h̷i̶s̵ ̸r̸o̷o̸m̸ ̷i̸s̶ ̸k̴i̸n̸d̵a̴ ̵s̷m̶a̶l̸l̵,̶ ̵b̶u̶t̷ ̴a̴d̷d̷i̷n̷g̴ ̴t̴h̶a̶t̵ ̵o̴n̸t̴o̷ ̷e̴v̷e̶r̶y̴o̵n̸e̵’̸s̷ ̵p̸l̸a̷t̴e̷ ̷r̶i̵g̸h̸t̷ ̵n̴o̸w̷…̵”

Sam squeaked and wrapped his optic nerve around the handle. Before Anti could do more than lunge for him Sam was flying out of the room with a shrill shriek of victory. 

Anti scrambled after him, door slamming open against the wall as Anti followed the flying eyeball. Sam bounced down the hall and zipped through the dining room with a squee, causing everyone in the living room to look over as Anti scrambled through after him, chairs and glasses falling over left and right as he smacked into the furniture and the walls, trying to follow the bouncing orb who was squealing with delight at the game. 

“What the fuck-?”

“G̶E̵T̶ ̵B̶A̸C̶K̴ ̷H̴E̵R̷E̶ ̴Y̷O̵U̵ ̵L̴I̸T̶T̷L̴E̸ ̴S̷H̴I̵T̶!̶”

Sam dropped to the ground with a small squeak just as Anti cornered him in the kitchen. He happily jumped onto Anti’s head, sitting comfortably on one of Jack’s old hats he’d found earlier that day in the depths of his closet. He stalked out of the kitchen, fingers twitching and returning to their normal color as he got his anger under control. He nodded to the others, who were sitting on the couch slack-jawed. 

“‘̵S̵u̸p̴ ̸f̸u̵c̸k̶e̵r̶s̸?̶” 

Jack just buried his face in his hands and sighed. 

This was going to be a long couple of days...

Sam just hopped over to Jack and squeed, causing basically everyone’s heart to melt slightly.  _ Holy shit he was so cute… _ Get ahold of yourself Anti. You were fearsome... and dangerous… and fucking soft. Damn it. 

“So how long have you kept him trapped in your room?”

Anti snapped to attention and Sam let out another joyful squeak at being around so many people. “W̷h̵a̴t̷?̴ ̶H̴e̸ ̵w̴a̵s̷n̵’̵t̸ ̷t̴r̶a̶p̵p̵e̶d̶-̶” _ Yes he was. _ Shut it conscience. “Y̷o̵u̵ ̷m̷a̷k̴e̶ ̸i̶t̷ ̷s̵o̸u̴n̵d̷ ̴b̸a̸d̴-̵ ̴h̵e̷ ̸w̴a̸s̵ ̶h̶a̶p̷p̷y̸,̵ ̵w̶e̶r̸e̴n̴’̵t̵ ̶y̷o̷u̶ ̴S̴a̵m̴?̵” Sam just squeaked, so he took it as a yes. “S̵e̸e̵?̷”

|Fine. When were you planning on telling us?|

Anti shrugged. “̶I̶ ̶d̷u̵n̸n̶o̸-̵ ̴p̶r̸o̸b̶a̴b̴l̸y̴ ̶w̶h̷e̷n̷e̴v̴e̸r̷ ̷y̷o̶u̸ ̷w̷e̷r̴e̷ ̵g̶o̴i̴n̶g̸ ̵t̸o̸ ̵m̴e̷n̴t̵i̶o̸n̵ ̶y̴o̴u̸ ̶p̴l̵a̶y̴e̵d̵ ̷p̵i̶a̷n̵o̶.̴ ̵W̷h̵o̸ ̷t̵h̶e̴ ̵f̵u̶c̶k̸ ̵p̶l̵a̸y̶s̵ ̶p̴i̵a̴n̵o̷?̷” He tried changing the subject.

Dark just glared at him as Wilford raised his hand. Really? He played piano?

“H̷o̵w̶ ̵t̵h̵e̶ ̸f̵u̴c̷k̴ ̵d̷i̴d̷ ̷y̷o̶u̴ ̸l̶e̷a̶r̴n̵ ̷p̴i̵a̷n̵o̷?̸”

“I had an old lover who knew how ya numbskull. Stop changing the subject Anti- why the hell was Sam stuck in your room? That’s no way to treat-”

“ _ Mr. Wil? _ ”

That voice- “H̶A̶H̴A̶H̶A̶H̷A̸H̸A̴H̴A̷!̵” He almost fell out of his chair as everyone jumped. He pointed towards Wilford. “̷Y̶o̵u̴ ̷f̵u̷c̶k̶i̵n̶g̶ ̸H̴Y̷P̵O̸C̴R̵I̴T̷E̷!̵ ̸H̸A̷H̴A̵H̸A̶H̶A̷H̴A̴!̴” 

A tiny box looked out from behind the couch as Anti laughed, tears in his eyes. “Y̷o̶u̷ ̸f̶u̴c̸k̷i̷n̷g̷ ̴h̵y̸p̸o̸c̶r̶i̷t̵e̵!̴ ̸H̵A̴H̸A̷H̶A̸H̶A̵-̸!̸”

“Now, now, watch your language around Tim!” Wilford scooped up the box and glared at him protectively. He could give less of a crap. His laughter soon died down and he got off of the floor, wheezing. 

“Y̴o̷u̶ ̴f̵u̸c̶k̷e̶r̶!̴ ̵I̸ ̴s̷w̸e̶a̷r̵-̴”

_ “Leave him alone!”  _

He stopped at the little wooden crate pointing a stick-like hand at him. He let out one last chortle and slumped back in his chair, looking at the box in curiosity. Apparently he’d stared too long, for the box started to lose his confidence and shrink back in Wilford’s palm. 

“ _ Just… leave him be! He- he didn’t- _ ” He was completely scared out of his wits. Aww. But now he kind of felt bad. Those fuckers made him feel bad over a sentient wooden crate.

“Calm down there little buddy! I’m sure ol’ Anti didn’t mean anything by it!” Wilford sent a harsh glare at him that further shut him up as the man in pink cradled the crate to his chest. 

It was time to leave. He motioned to Sam, holding out his arm. Sam squeaked happily and burrowed further into Jack’s hoodie. He blinked and snarled, disappearing back to his room in a flash of anger. 

Those fuckers… he- fuck he couldn’t even think straight!

“F̸U̵C̵K̶!̷” He kicked at his trashcan, causing it to spin across the room, bouncing off the wall and spilling crumpled balls of paper. He looked at Sam’s tank and felt… just sad. Not angry that he’d been glanced over for Jack after he’d been the one to take care of him for all this fucking time without so much as a thank you, but… sad. 

Fuck emotions. 

He wiped a few papers off of his desk and watched them fall to the floor, the anger he knew- he was familiar with- he knew how to use- was basically gone. Replaced with… bullshit. Fuck this. 

He heard a knock at the door and knew it was Chase. He let out a loud hiss, feeling that it basically summed up the situation. He heard a thump as Chase sat back against the wood. This was old hat- they’d done this every time he’d gotten angry at someone and retreated to his room to sulk. 

He took his usual place on the other side. It was routine, and it usually helped him calm down to be close to another person like this. They sat in silence. 

“You okay?” 

He shrugged, then realized the man couldn’t hear him. “D̵u̵n̷n̴o̵.̴”̶

“That’s fair. Ya wanna come out?”

“N̷o̴.”

“That’s okay. You want me to leave?” 

That’s something Chase never would say. He got up and opened the door, Jack falling in and Sam letting out a squeak of surprise. 

“W̷h̵a̷t̵’̸r̸e̵ ̵y̸o̷u̴ ̴d̴o̴i̵n̸g̷ ̶h̵e̵r̴e̵?̶” He didn’t think Jack would care.

Jack rubbed his head. “Why wouldn’t I be here? I wanted to make sure you were okay!”

Ugh. Feelings. 

He needed a drink. Or food. Something to do other than think. Since Jack was already here...

“W̸a̶n̴t̶ ̸t̶o̷ ̶g̶o̵ ̷r̴a̷i̷d̸ ̷t̴h̷e̶ ̴k̶i̷t̴c̶h̴e̶n̸?̴”̶

Jack’s face scrunched up. “It’s two o’clock- how is that raiding the kitchen?”

You poor, poor man. How could someone that Irish be so wrong?

“A̵n̸y̶t̴i̵m̵e̵ ̸i̷s̷ ̵r̴a̶i̸d̶i̷n̴g̷ ̸t̷h̶e̵ ̷k̷i̴t̸c̴h̵e̶n̵.̸ ̷Y̷a̵ ̵w̴a̴n̴t̸ ̸s̷o̸m̶e̵t̵h̷i̷n̴g̵ ̸o̴r̴ ̵d̴o̷ ̸y̷a̶ ̵w̸a̸n̵t̵ ̸a̵n̷ ̷u̵n̸c̷o̵m̵f̴o̶r̷t̶a̸b̶l̵e̶ ̴s̵i̸l̵e̶n̴c̴e̸?̴”

“I know this is to dodge the subject but I can’t argue with that logic. I need some food in me. Sam?” Sam simply hovered over to Anti and squeaked. “I’ll take that as a yes. Are there any requirements to kitchen raiding?”

Anti sighed. “Y̶o̴u̸ ̸p̴o̷o̵r̸,̶ ̵p̵o̵o̴r̴ ̸i̴d̷i̸o̵t̸.̵ ̵J̷u̶s̵t̷…̵ ̴d̸o̴ ̷w̵h̶a̷t̷ ̶I̴ ̶d̷o̵ ̸a̵n̷d̶ ̵d̷o̸n̸’̵t̷ ̶m̸e̸s̶s̵ ̷i̶t̶ ̸u̶p̶.̴”

“Aww, thanks for comprehensive instructions.”

“S̶h̷u̵t̸ ̷u̷p̶.̸”

“Nah. Ya sure ya want me here cramping your style?”

Anti just gave him a playful shove. “I̷ ̴k̶n̵o̵w̵ ̶y̶o̵u̴ ̷a̶r̵e̴n̵’̴t̷ ̴t̴h̸a̶t̷ ̶d̵u̸m̶b̸.̴”

“Yeah, yeah. To make this easier… ya wanna try to fuse again? See if it works out differently?”

Anti took a half step back, completely caught off guard. “W̸h̶a̶t̵?̵ ̶J̸a̸c̸k̷,̶ ̸I̵ ̴t̴h̷o̵u̵g̸h̸t̷ ̵y̴o̸u̸ ̸h̴a̸t̸e̷d̸-̴”̴

“I mean- I’m not the biggest fan of it but Picani said we should talk more, and I think this qualifies as talking, wouldn’t you?”

“Y̸o̴u̶- ̸y̴o̷u̶ ̴w̵a̷n̵t̵ ̸t̷o̵- ̸b̶u̴t̶ ̴I̶ ̴g̴o̵t̷ ̵a̴n̷g̶r̶y̵ ̵a̵t̸ ̸y̵o̸u̴!̶ ̸I̶ ̷f̶u̷c̷k̵i̴n̸g̶ ̶t̴h̵r̴e̶a̷t̵e̵n̷ ̷y̸o̵u̶ ̴e̸v̵e̸r̶y̷ ̷t̷i̸m̴e̵ ̶I̸ ̶c̷o̶m̵e̸ ̴n̷e̴a̵r̴!̴ ̵I̷’̷m̷ ̴a̷ ̷f̷u̷c̸k̵i̴n̵g̴ ̵a̵s̸s̵!̷”̵

“Well yeah, but that’s just what you do. I designed your character Anti, I know how you act. You don’t mean any of it.”

“B̸u̷t̴ ̷w̶h̴y̶ ̷t̶h̴e̸ ̶h̶e̶l̷l̵ ̴d̷o̴ ̷y̵a̵ ̷w̵a̵n̸t̷ ̸t̷o̸ ̶d̵o̸ ̸t̷h̷i̶s̴ ̵n̴o̴w̷?̷!̸ ̶Y̵o̶u̶ ̶c̴o̷u̴l̸d̴ ̴b̸e̶ ̷l̴o̸s̴t̸ ̸a̵g̶a̶i̶n̵ ̴o̴r̷ ̸s̷o̴m̴e̶ ̶s̸h̶i̴t̵-̷ ̶I̵ ̶d̷o̵n̴’̷t̸ ̴w̷a̷n̷n̶a̵ ̸p̶u̸t̶ ̵y̷a̵ ̷t̷h̵r̷o̸u̶g̴h̴ ̵t̵h̷a̷t̴.”

Jack just sort of gave a shrug. “I dunno- I don’t want it hangin’ over my head. I want to move on past this and start freaking out about something else. Like what videos I should post or something. I’m just… tired of freaking out. We’ve been like video game protagonists these last few days- constantly running for our lives and freaking out or something.”

Anti just shook his head and took a step towards the kitchen. “L̵a̶t̸e̵r̵ ̷J̷a̴c̵k̵.̶ ̴M̴a̷y̵b̸e̸.̶ ̵J̴u̷s̴t̴…̴ ̸t̶h̷i̴n̶k̴ ̸a̴b̸o̶u̵t̵ ̴i̶t̷ ̷a̴ ̷b̷i̷t̸.̷ ̵I̵ ̸d̸o̴n̵’̸t̷-̶”

“Anti, you could never-” He glared at him over his shoulder.

“I̸ ̷f̸u̸c̴k̴i̶n̷g̶ ̵h̷u̷r̸t̶ ̵e̴v̶e̵r̵y̵t̷h̵i̶n̶g̵ ̷I̶ ̴t̴o̵u̷c̷h̵,̶ ̴c̴a̵n̷’̸t̵ ̴y̸a̶ ̴r̴e̸s̷p̴e̷c̵t̷ ̵t̶h̵a̶t̶ ̸I̴ ̶w̷a̸n̶t̶ ̵t̸o̸ ̴k̸e̴e̶p̷ ̶y̵a̶ ̶f̷r̷o̶m̶ ̷t̷h̷e̴ ̷s̸a̷m̶e̷?̷” Well when he put it like that it was sort of pitiful. And… all honorable and shit. “I̷ ̴d̶o̷n̷’̶t̴ ̶w̷a̶n̸t̵ ̶t̷o̶ ̴k̶e̷e̴p̵ ̵t̵h̴i̴s̶ ̷h̸a̵n̸g̷i̴n̴ ̶o̶v̶e̴r̶ ̴m̶y̴ ̶h̴e̶a̷d̵ ̵e̵i̴t̶h̶e̴r̷ ̸b̸u̷d̸d̴y̸ ̶b̵u̶t̸ ̶I̴ ̸a̸l̸s̵o̴ ̶d̸o̶n̸’̴t̷ ̷w̸a̶n̷t̴ ̵y̴a̷ ̵t̵o̴ ̸g̷o̷ ̸t̴o̴ ̷t̵h̴e̷ ̴t̶r̷o̴u̸b̵l̷e̴-̸”

“Trouble? Trouble?! Anti, I want to put this past us and crap, but it’s not-”

“I̸ ̷d̸o̶n̸’̸t̵ ̴w̷a̶n̶t̵ ̵t̵o̸ ̴a̶r̷g̴u̴e̷ ̶w̷i̷t̷h̶ ̸y̶o̸u̵ ̵J̵a̵c̵k̶.̸ ̸J̶u̷s̶t̷…̴ ̶w̷a̸i̵t̷.̴ ̵L̶e̵t̵’̸s̸ ̴j̶u̸s̵t̸ ̴g̵e̸t̸ ̷s̵o̴m̵e̶ ̶f̸o̸o̷d̵ ̷a̵n̴d̴ ̶r̸e̶l̶a̵x̷.̴ ̶T̸a̷l̷k̶ ̷a̷b̷o̴u̶t̸ ̷t̸h̵i̸s̸ ̸l̸a̸t̷e̵r̴.̶”

“Fine! That’s just great! We’ll avoid the topic until I leave!” Jack looked angry, yet he also could tell that he wasn’t sure why he was so annoyed. 

“J̵a̶c̴k̷,̵ ̴c̷a̷l̸m̶ ̸d̴o̸w̴n̸.̴”

“Don’t fucking tell me to calm down! Listen here buster-”

Anti did the first thing he could think of- he grabbed his arm. As soon as he felt lighter he took a metaphorical step back. He felt like he was detached from his body as Jack looked down. He waited. 

“W͛o͠w̐,̓ ̎y̅o̎ǘ ̏ăr̾ẽ ̔r͑ěa̋ll̕ý ͐f͠űc̕k̃i̔n̒g̋ ̉h̔ũn̚g̓ȓy͗.̑”

Anti laughed, and was surprised that Jack did as well. 

He walked to the kitchen, grabbing a granola bar. Really? A granola bar? Boring. We have chips and crap too. 

Jack opened a cabinet and grabbed a bag of chips. Huh. Nice. He liked that flavor. Jack walked over to Anti’s room and dumped the stuff on the bed before he felt an energy just kind of push at him. He let it, falling to the floor along with Jack. 

“W̸e̵l̸l̶ ̶t̴h̴a̸t̸ ̴w̷a̷s̶ ̶i̴n̸t̷e̴r̷e̶s̴t̶i̴n̷g̸.̶” He drawled, snagging one of the bags of chips and sitting on the floor. 

Jack just shook his head and grabbed the granola bar. “I see what you mean though. About the fronting. It does feel pretty much the same- well, except for the glitching. Don’t think I’ll ever really get used to that.”

Anti just shrugged and glitched more for dramatic effect. “Y̷o̸u̵r̴ ̴f̷o̴o̵d̴ ̷t̶a̷s̸t̷e̸s̵ ̵l̷e̴a̸v̴e̶ ̷s̵o̵m̵e̸t̴h̷i̸n̶g̵ ̶t̵o̴ ̷b̶e̵ ̴d̸e̵s̵i̶r̸e̴d̷.̴”̷

“Excuse me, granola bars are amazing.”

“̴T̸h̸a̷t̶ ̴o̴n̶e̸ ̸d̸o̴e̶s̴n̴’̸t̴ ̶e̶v̷e̴n̵ ̵h̸a̸v̶e̸ ̴a̷n̶y̶ ̶c̸h̶o̷c̷o̷l̴a̸t̸e̶ ̴c̵h̷i̴p̸s̷ ̶y̶a̶ ̴n̵i̵t̸w̷i̷t̶.̴”

He looked at the bar and stuck his tongue out in disgust. “Then why is it in the house?!” He tossed it across the room. 

“̷J̵a̵c̸k̶i̷e̸b̵o̴y̸ ̶M̵a̷n̶ ̴l̷i̷k̷e̸s̸ ̵t̴h̸e̶m̵ ̵w̶h̵e̶n̴ ̷h̸e̵ ̸g̷o̵e̶s̷ ̶o̸n̶ ̸p̴a̵t̶r̶o̷l̵s̷.̸ ̵S̵c̵h̵n̷e̶e̵p̷ ̷l̶i̵k̶e̷s̸ ̷t̸h̵e̵m̷ ̷i̴f̶ ̷h̵e̶ ̷h̵a̷s̴ ̵n̴o̸ ̴t̵i̵m̵e̵ ̸w̴i̵t̶h̷ ̶w̸o̷r̸k̸ ̵t̶o̷ ̸e̴a̵t̵.̶ ̷N̸e̵i̶t̴h̶e̶r̴ ̵o̴f̵ ̴t̵h̸e̷m̵ ̴s̸e̶e̴m̴ ̸t̵o̴ ̶h̸a̶v̵e̷ ̵t̷a̷s̸t̶e̸ ̷b̶u̷d̷s̷.̸”̷

“Schneep has work?”

“̸H̴e̶ ̷l̷i̵k̸e̷s̷ ̶t̵o̸ ̷w̸o̵r̷k̷ ̴w̷i̷t̸h̷ ̷I̴p̵l̴i̶e̶r̴ ̴a̸n̶d̴ ̶t̴h̸e̵ ̷G̶o̶o̸g̴l̸e̶s̷ ̸o̶n̸ ̷a̵l̵l̴ ̷s̶o̸r̴t̵s̵ ̴o̴f̷ ̶t̴h̶i̵n̷g̵s̴.̶ ̶H̷e̴ ̴d̶o̷e̷s̸ ̷p̴a̵p̷e̸r̷w̵o̵r̴k̷ ̵a̶n̵d̸ ̴f̵o̷r̶g̵e̸t̴s̶ ̴a̵b̵o̷u̸t̵ ̸l̵u̵n̴c̴h̷ ̷o̵r̶ ̵d̸i̶n̸n̵e̶r̵.̷ ̸R̵o̸b̵b̵i̵e̶ ̶n̷a̸g̵s̶ ̸h̴i̸m̵ ̴t̷o̷ ̷e̵a̶t̶.̸ ̷T̴h̷e̴ ̸u̴s̶u̸a̷l̵ ̶r̵e̸a̴l̴l̶y̴.̴ ̸H̷e̴ ̴s̶e̴e̶m̶s̶ ̸f̸i̶n̷e̶,̴ ̸b̴u̸t̴ ̸w̴e̸ ̸k̶e̶e̸p̴ ̶n̸a̴g̸g̴i̸n̵g̶ ̴h̶i̷m̸ ̶a̶b̷o̴u̵t̴ ̵i̸t̸.̴”̶

“Oh. I’ll go by and give this to him-” He reached over for the granola bar and Anti smacked his hand. 

“N̶o̸p̵e̵.̵ ̸I̴’̷l̷l̴ ̴g̸o̷ ̷d̶o̴ ̶i̴t̶-̶ ̶t̵h̵e̷y̸ ̸s̴o̷m̴e̷t̶i̸m̴e̷s̶ ̸a̸r̸e̵ ̴w̴o̶r̷k̶i̸n̶g̸ ̵w̸i̶t̴h̵ ̴d̵a̷n̷g̴e̸r̵o̴u̶s̸ ̷s̸t̴u̴f̶f̵.̷ ̵Y̴o̸u̵ ̷c̸o̶u̸l̵d̵ ̷g̷e̵t̵ ̴h̸u̴r̵t̵ ̴o̴r̵ ̵s̴o̵m̷e̸t̵h̶i̷n̵g̷.̷ ̷T̸h̵e̵y̶ ̶d̵o̸n̶’̸t̵ ̷m̷i̷n̵d̸ ̴m̶e̶ ̸o̶r̴ ̵R̷o̸b̶b̴i̶e̷ ̶d̸o̴i̷n̸g̷ ̶i̶t̴ ̶b̵e̶c̶a̸u̴s̷e̶ ̷i̸t̶’̸s̴ ̸h̵a̶r̶d̵e̶r̷ ̷f̴o̴r̸ ̴u̷s̵ ̷t̶o̵ ̶g̴e̶t̵ ̴h̸u̸r̸t̸.̴ ̴W̵e̴l̶l̴,̴ ̵t̵h̵e̸y̶ ̴m̶i̷n̴d̷ ̶b̵u̴t̵ ̸w̷e̶ ̶i̷g̷n̵o̸r̶e̵ ̸t̷h̷e̷m̶.̶ ̷C̷h̴i̵p̵s̷?̶”

Jack grabbed for them and Anti tossed a handful into his face with a smirk. Jack spluttered and shook his head, crumbs getting everywhere. That was going to be a hassle to clean up later. 

“Go give that to Schneep ya moron.” 

Anti grinned and waved, disappearing with the granola bar. Jack would have to wait for him to get back. 

Anti appeared in the lab, it unusually dark except for Schneep’s office. He heard whispers of conversation and decided to just leave it on a worktable with a note. He grabbed a sticky note and scribbled something down as his ears strained to hear. He really shouldn’t be listening...

_ “But we don’t know anything about demons! Are they different from the rest of us or what?!” _

His blood- well, he didn’t really have what you could consider blood but he could imagine the feeling with what little he had- ran cold. He dropped the pen onto the worktable and disappeared. He sat heavily on the bed and tried to collect himself. 

“Anti? What’s wrong?”

Shit. He’d forgotten Jack was in here. He just shook his head and curled up on the bed, inwardly daring him to come closer as his brain raced. 

Of course, Jack came closer. “Anti? What’s wrong? Anti just shook his head again as he felt more than numbness kick in. Fucking emotions… 

“D̷o̸n̵’̴t̷ ̶w̵a̷n̵t̷ ̴t̵o̵ ̸t̴a̶l̶k̶ ̸a̶b̵o̴u̴t̵ ̶i̵t̶.̸ ̵J̵u̴s̶t̵.̴ ̷G̸o̶.̴”̴

Jack looked confused, and Sam looked at him worriedly. 

“Is there anything I can do-”

“S̵a̷m̸,̶ ̸p̸l̸e̴a̸s̴e̵.̴ ̸J̴u̷s̴t̴ ̴t̵a̴k̴e̸ ̶h̵i̸m̴ ̵o̴u̸t̵.̷” 

Sam pulled on Jack’s wrist without any hesitation. “Anti? Anti, what’s going on? How can I-”

The door closed, cutting him off. He heard knocking on his door for a few seconds before Sam must have pulled him away. 

Okay Anti. Focus. Logic. What’s gotten you so freaked out. 

_ Demons. _

Okay, well what about demons?

_ They know we’re demons. _

Well Wilford wasn’t exactly subtle. What can you do about it?

_ Knives. _

No, no knives. That’s Wilford’s thing. You can be a reasonable human being, can’t you?

_ Not a human being. _

Oh shut up me. I can talk to them, can’t I? Get Dark and Wilford and JJ together-

_ No no no no no no no… _

This isn’t helping. 

He needed to have a chat with Dark before he drove himself crazy.

He disappeared in a blur of pixels. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn't much in the way of plot, but I hope you guys enjoyed it! I hoped to answer a few questions as well as add a bit to the story. This will be fun.~


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kinda feel sorry for ruining JJ's day. Oh well. Enjoy some Anti angst!

He appeared inside Dark’s room, eyeing the rolling shadows with slight nervousness like he did every time he was here. 

“Y̶O̴ ̴D̴A̸R̷K̶!̷”

He felt a disturbance beside him as Dark appeared. |Yes?|

“̶I̸ ̵n̴e̴e̵d̸ ̷t̴o̷ ̷t̵a̷l̴k̴ ̴t̶o̴ ̴y̶o̷u̸.̶ ̷T̴h̶e̸ ̴o̴t̴h̸e̵r̵s̴ ̸a̷r̸e̵ ̷g̴e̴t̷t̸i̵n̵g̴ ̸c̸u̵r̶i̷o̵u̷s̴.̸”

|About?|

“D̸e̴m̴o̸n̷s.̵ ̵J̷J̶ ̷h̵a̸s̷n̶’̷t̷ ̶t̸o̸l̴d̵ ̸t̷h̵e̴m̸ ̴a̴n̷y̶t̷h̶i̵n̴g̸,̷ ̵b̴u̶t̷ ̸y̸o̷u̸ ̵k̴n̴o̵w̶ ̸t̷h̵e̶ ̶o̵t̶h̸e̸r̵ ̶p̷a̷r̸a̴m̶e̸t̷e̶r̴s̶.̸ ̴I̴ ̴d̸o̵n̸’̶t̸ ̶e̸v̵e̴n̵ ̶t̸h̴i̵n̴k̶ ̴J̷ ̶k̶n̵o̵w̶s̴ ̴h̵i̵m̷s̷e̷l̵f̷.̵ ̷H̴e̵ ̷c̴o̶u̴l̴d̵ ̸j̷u̸s̴t̸ ̵n̸o̴t̸ ̶r̴e̴m̵e̵m̷b̴e̷r̷-̸”̷

|Anti. Relax.| Anti was glitching more, and his voice started to warp more than usual in his rambling, which was soon to turn hysterical.

“I̴ ̶t̴u̸r̷n̵e̵d̸ ̶h̷i̷m̴ ̸i̴n̴t̶o̷ ̶a̵ ̸d̸e̴m̷o̴n̵ ̵D̷a̶r̶k̸!̴ ̴I̶ ̶f̸u̵c̷k̶i̶n̸g̸ ̷p̸o̶s̷s̸e̵s̴s̴e̵d̷ ̴h̸i̸m̶ ̴a̸n̸d̶ ̵i̵t̷ ̷k̸i̸l̸l̵e̵d̴ ̶h̵i̶m̷!̸ ̷Y̸o̷u̸ ̵d̶i̷e̷d̸!̷ ̶W̷i̸l̵f̵o̷r̴d̶ ̸d̴i̷e̵d̸!̸ ̵I̸ ̸k̶i̸l̵l̵e̵d̵ ̷m̶y̶s̵e̴l̶f̷!̷ ̵T̵h̵i̶s̸ ̶i̶s̵n̶’̶t̷ ̴a̶b̸o̴u̴t̵ ̸r̴e̴m̷e̷m̸b̷e̴r̴i̵n̷g̵ ̷s̴o̴m̸e̷ ̴b̸u̷l̷l̴s̸h̶i̵t̶ ̵f̴a̵k̴e̷ ̶w̴o̶r̷l̷d̵-̶ ̸t̵h̸i̶s̴ ̶i̸s̶ ̴a̶b̴o̴u̸t̷ ̷d̴e̷a̷t̸h̵!̷ ̷C̷h̵a̵s̴e̷ ̸s̸h̵o̴u̴l̴d̸ ̵b̴e̸ ̵a̸ ̷d̴e̸m̷o̴n̵ ̸b̵u̵t̵ ̷S̸c̴h̵n̶e̶e̴p̷ ̸s̸a̴v̷e̴d̸ ̸h̷i̴m̸!̶ ̵T̷h̶e̴y̸’̵r̴e̵ ̷s̶t̶a̸r̵t̵i̴n̵g̸ ̴t̶o̵ ̵w̴o̴n̸d̴e̵r̴-̴”̵

|Who is starting to wonder?|

“S̶c̴h̶n̴e̵e̵p̷ ̷a̸n̸d̸ ̶t̶h̴e̴ ̸G̸o̸o̷g̶l̶e̸s̷!̵ ̸I̴ ̶w̵e̷n̸t̴ ̴b̵y̸ ̴t̵o̴ ̸g̷i̶v̵e̵ ̵h̵i̸m̸ ̴a̸ ̴g̵r̴a̷n̶o̵l̵a̵ ̸b̷a̷r̴ ̴a̸n̷d̷ ̶t̶h̶e̸y̶ ̷w̸e̶r̶e̶ ̶h̴a̶v̵i̵n̸g̵ ̸a̶ ̶m̸e̸e̸t̵i̴n̶g̷ ̷a̷b̵o̶u̵t̴ ̵u̸s̴!̵ ̵T̷h̶e̷y̷’̵r̸e̶ ̶s̷t̶a̸r̴t̸i̷n̷g̷ ̶t̵o̴ ̴a̴s̷k̸ ̶q̵u̵e̷s̵t̶i̴o̶n̷s̶ ̴D̶a̷r̵k̶,̵ ̵a̵n̴d̴ ̶I̵ ̸d̴o̵n̵’̸t̷ ̴k̴n̸o̴w̴ ̶w̷h̸a̶t̶ ̶t̴h̶e̴y̵’̶r̶e̷ ̶g̷o̸i̵n̸g̸ ̸t̷o̵ ̶d̶o̷ ̶w̵i̸t̵h̷ ̶t̴h̸e̵m̵!̴”

|Relax. I’ll talk to Wilford.|

“B̴u̸t̶ ̵w̸h̸a̴t̵ ̶a̷b̴o̷u̶t̸ ̸J̸?̷ ̷H̷e̵ ̸d̸e̷s̵e̶r̴v̵e̵s̵ ̷t̵o̸ ̷k̸n̷o̶w̸ ̴t̸h̵a̸t̶ ̵I̶-̸” He trailed off, putting his head in his hands. “T̵h̴a̶t̶ ̵I̶ ̸k̵i̷l̶l̶e̵d̴ ̵h̸i̶m̵.̶ ̴H̶e̸ ̸h̸a̸d̸n̸’̴t̶ ̴b̵e̴e̷n̴ ̵i̶n̷ ̷t̸h̵i̵s̴ ̸w̴o̴r̶l̵d̷ ̶f̷o̶r̶ ̷m̵o̷r̶e̵ ̸t̶h̵a̸n̸ ̵a̵ ̶f̸e̶w̸ ̶m̶i̵n̶u̷t̷e̴s̷ ̵a̵n̷d̴ ̸I̸ ̸k̷i̶l̵l̶e̸d̷ ̴h̴i̷m̶.̵ ̷B̵e̶c̷a̵u̷s̵e̵ ̸h̵e̵ ̶w̸a̴s̵ ̷t̶h̶e̵ ̶n̵e̸w̴ ̶f̴a̷v̴o̶u̷r̶i̸t̷e̴.̴ ̶B̷e̷c̷a̵u̸s̷e̸ ̷h̴e̶ ̶c̸o̷u̷l̸d̵ ̸b̸e̷ ̸a̷ ̷s̵t̸a̷r̷.̴ ̶B̸u̷t̵ ̶h̸e̵ ̶f̷u̴c̷k̸i̸n̴g̶ ̸l̶i̷v̸e̴d̷.̵ ̵H̵e̸ ̴t̶h̵i̸n̴k̷s̴ ̶t̵h̴a̶t̶ ̶I̴ ̷h̴a̸t̷e̷ ̴h̵i̷m̵.̸”

|I’m sure he thinks no such thing Anti. Relax.|

“H̵e̵ ̵d̶o̷e̵s̸n̴’̸t̸ ̷r̶e̴m̵e̷m̴b̴e̷r̸!̷ ̵H̷e̸ ̸t̵h̷i̷n̶k̵s̸ ̴t̵h̸a̴t̴ ̴I̸ ̸j̸u̴s̵t̵ ̵p̷o̵s̸s̶e̶s̴s̸e̵d̵ ̷h̴i̷m̴ ̴b̶u̵t̷ ̵I̵-̶.̷” His voice cracked. “I̵ ̸f̶u̴c̸k̶i̵n̵g̴ ̴s̷t̴o̶p̵p̶e̵d̶ ̴h̵i̸s̶ ̷h̵e̴a̵r̵t̵.̷ ̸I̶ ̸l̴i̵t̷e̷r̶a̵l̶l̶y̴ ̸k̸i̴l̵l̵e̷d̶ ̸a̴ ̷s̶t̷r̸a̸n̶g̶e̸r̸ ̸o̴v̴e̸r̵ ̸n̴o̸t̸h̶i̵n̵g̷.̴ N̴o̷w̵ ̷h̵e̵'̴s̶ ̶j̸u̵s̵t̶ ̷p̴l̶a̸y̶i̷n̷g̴ ̵a̷l̸o̷n̷g̴ ̶f̷o̸r̷ ̵s̷o̵m̸e̴ ̶k̵i̶n̷d̴ ̷o̷f̴ ̴a̶n̸s̷w̶e̸r̷!̷ ̶H̸e̷ ̶r̸e̴m̵e̴m̶b̴e̴r̸s̴ ̸s̵h̴i̵t̴-̸ ̷h̷e̴'̷s̷ ̶p̵r̵o̵b̷a̴b̷l̴y̷ ̸b̸e̷a̴t̷i̵n̷g̸ ̴h̶i̶m̴s̵e̴l̵f̴ ̷u̴p̴ ̷f̴o̸r̵ ̵n̶o̷t̶ ̴b̶e̴i̶n̷g̸ ̸a̸b̷l̴e̸ ̷t̷o̸ ̶r̴e̸m̵e̶m̴b̵e̸r̶ ̸a̶n̶ ̴i̶d̶e̸a̶ ̷w̸e̷ ̷p̸u̷t̶ ̶i̶n̸t̶o̷ ̵h̴i̷s̵ ̵h̸e̸a̶d̸!̴”

|Anti. Stop.| He put a hand on his shoulder but Anti just kept talking. 

“A̴n̶d̴ ̶h̶e̵r̷e̵ ̴I̷ ̵a̷m̵ ̷f̴e̵e̶l̸i̸n̶g̸ ̶l̵i̸k̴e̶ ̸s̴h̶i̷t̵ ̶w̸h̵e̷n̴ ̸J̷a̵c̶k̶ ̶w̷a̴n̸t̶s̶ ̵t̴o̵ ̴f̴u̶s̷e̶?̷!̵ ̶H̶e̴ ̶f̶e̵e̴l̶s̵ ̴t̷h̴e̸ ̶d̵a̶r̴k̶n̵e̷s̸s̸ ̷b̷u̴t̵ ̷h̸e̵ ̷d̴o̴e̷s̶n̵’̶t̸ ̸e̸v̶e̸n̵ ̴g̷e̶t̶ ̵t̸h̸e̷ ̸h̶a̷l̵f̸ ̸o̴f̴ ̶i̸t̷!̶ ̴I̵’̸m̷ ̷a̶ ̴m̷u̴r̶d̴e̵r̶e̷r̴-”

|Anti.| Dark had pulled him into a hug sometime between ‘feeling like shit’ and ‘get the half of it’. |It’s okay. Try to calm down. I can have Wilford-|

“N̵o̴!̴”

|-I can talk to him-|

“I̴-”

|-I can help you. You’re a friend. Apparently those tend to help each other with things.|

“̸I̸…̵.̶ ̶f̴i̷n̶e̵.̴ ̴O̶k̶a̵y̵.̶ ̴O̸k̴a̷y̷.̵ ̴T̶h̸a̸n̸k̷s̴.”

|Now get out of my room. You people never knock, do you?|

“Y̵e̵a̶h̵.̶ ̶W̶e̴’̸r̷e̸ ̶a̶n̸n̸o̷y̵i̷n̸g̵ ̷l̸i̸k̶e̶ ̴t̴h̸a̵t̵.̷ ̷I̶’̶l̴l̴ ̷t̶e̸l̴l̶ ̴h̶i̸m̷ ̵l̴a̵t̷e̶r̴.̵ ̴G̸o̶d̴ ̵t̷h̶a̸t̴’̵s̴ ̴g̴o̷i̸n̸g̷ ̷t̴o̸ ̸b̵e̷ ̵a̶w̵k̸w̸a̸r̵d̵…̶ ̶D̷o̸ ̸y̷o̶u̷ ̸t̸h̷i̴n̵k̴ ̸h̶i̴s̶ ̴g̶l̵o̵v̷e̴s̴ ̵a̴r̵e̵ ̸g̶o̶i̸n̶g̵ ̸t̸o̴ ̷t̷r̸y̷ ̴a̶n̴d̶ ̷s̴t̸a̷b̴ ̷m̶e̶?̷”̸

Dark just shrugged, a casual gesture that looked rather out of place to anyone but his closest friends. |Who knows with that one. Just… try to approach it carefully. You know how he gets.|

“W̵h̷a̶t̵,̸ ̴s̵h̷o̴u̷l̸d̵ ̵I̶ ̴g̴e̶t̴ ̴h̶i̵m̸ ̸a̴ ̸‘̷S̴o̵r̴r̴y̷ ̴I̷ ̵K̶i̷l̵l̶e̶d̸ ̶Y̷o̴u̸’̸ ̶c̶a̷r̸d̴?̸” Dark hit him upside the head with a smirk. 

|Jackass. Go and talk to him before you lose your nerve. In the meantime, I have to talk to Host out of piano lessons. What if he wants to sing? Hearts breaking left and right.|

“Y̸e̴a̸h̷.̴ ̶M̵a̴r̸k̶’̷s̴ ̸b̶e̴e̷n̸ ̴r̴u̵b̴b̸i̸n̴g̴ ̴o̸f̶f̸ ̴o̷n̴ ̸y̸o̵u̶.̵~̵ ̵Y̸o̸u̵ ̴a̶c̷t̶u̸a̶l̷l̴y̸ ̷c̵a̴r̴e̴!̸”

Dark spluttered. |I do not!|

Anti just laughed as he walked towards the doorway. “Y̴o̴u̵’̶r̸e̷ ̴l̷o̴s̴i̶n̶g̴ ̴y̷o̴u̸r̸ ̷t̷o̵u̴c̶h̶ ̸D̶a̶r̶k̴y̵!̷ ̶Y̶o̴u̸r̴ ̸r̶e̵p̷u̷t̶a̵t̵i̷o̴n̴,̵ ̸g̷o̴i̶n̶g̷ ̴d̴o̷w̶n̷ ̶i̸n̷ ̷s̷m̸i̷t̸h̸e̵r̵e̵e̷n̵s̴!̷!” 

|Can it, jerkwad.|

“̴Y̸o̷u̴’̶r̵e̸ ̴r̵u̸n̷n̸i̷n̶g̴ ̸o̵u̵t̵ ̴o̸f̴ ̸i̸n̷s̵u̶l̵t̷s̷ ̶D̴a̴r̵k̷i̴p̴o̷o̷!̴ ̵Y̸o̸u̴’̸r̷e̸ ̸j̷o̸i̸n̸i̶n̶g̴ ̶u̷s̷ ̵o̴n̵ ̴t̷h̸e̴ ̵f̶l̸i̸p̷ ̸s̵i̴d̴e̸!̵”̵

|I am not! I am elegant, and proper, and you’re just trying to rile me up aren’t you?|

“N̵e̶v̷e̴r̴ ̸s̷a̶i̸d̴ ̵I̵ ̵w̸a̶s̵ ̶u̶n̷p̴r̷e̸d̸i̶c̸t̵a̸b̴l̴e̵!̵ ̸S̵e̷e̴ ̵y̸a̶ ̴a̷r̸o̷u̷n̷d̸ ̷M̶r̸.̵ ̸U̸p̴t̸i̴g̷h̵t̴!̵"̴

|I am not uptight you asshole.|

“M̶a̶r̷k̶’̸s̴ ̴d̴e̴f̵i̷n̷i̶t̷e̷l̷y̴ ̸b̶e̸e̴n̸ ̵r̶u̵b̶b̴i̸n̵g̴ ̷o̴f̴f̴ ̸o̷n̸ ̶y̴o̸u̵!̷”

Anti’s laughter echoed around the room as Dark physically kicked him out with a surge of energy. 

|Asshole.|

 

\--------

 

There was a knock on his door. JJ stood, putting his pages of notes on his desk- why was there something missing? Some piece of information…. Ah. Someone who might have the answers. 

_ *Anti! Come in, come in! I’m just trying to figure something out and you might be of help!* _ He ushered in the oddly still glitch, picking up a pen and his sheaf of notes.  _ *Say, do you think you could tell me more about-* _

_ “J̴a̸m̵e̶s̶,̴ ̸p̷l̵e̸a̶s̶e̶ ̸l̶i̶s̷t̶e̵n̸.̶” _

He stilled at the look in Anti’s eyes. It looked… sad. No… deeper than sad. More than sad… what was a better word than emotional agony?

_ *Anti? What’s wrong?* _

Anti just wrapped him in a hug. This was… unheard of. Anti never hugged anyone-

_ “̸I̴’̷m̵ ̴s̶o̸ ̵s̸o̸r̴r̶y̸…̸.̷ ̷F̷u̷c̵k̵,̶ ̷J̶a̴m̸e̸s̵,̸ ̷I̷-̵” _

_ *Anti, Anti! It’s fine chap- let’s just talk-* _ Anti just held onto him harder. He winced. _ *Anti? Fella, what’s wrong? You’re all jumbled- what’s got you so upset?* _

Anti just glitched harder, making him almost impossible to hold onto. JJ stiffened, hoping not to accidentally hurt him.  _ *Anti?* _

_ “I̴’̷m̶ ̵s̴o̸ ̷s̵o̴r̷r̷y̵.̸ ̷S̵o̵,̴ ̶s̴o̷ ̴s̸o̶r̷r̵y̶…̴” _

_ *Anti, what is it? You didn’t do anything wrong?* _ The questioning tone in the end hurt Anti most of all. Like he wanted to believe it- he almost could believe it, but just… couldn’t. 

_ “̵I̶-̷ ̴d̵o̵ ̴y̸o̸u̴ ̴r̸e̵m̷e̷m̵b̵e̶r̴ ̸w̷h̸e̷n̴ ̷y̶o̵u̵ ̴f̸i̵r̴s̴t̴ ̴a̸p̴p̷e̴a̵r̶e̴d̶?̸” _

Jameson let out a small laugh, his mustache tickling Anti’s jaw.  _ *Of course! You found me and took care of me! The shock had almost stopped my heart, but you had managed to get it going again-* _

_ “N̵o̵,̸ ̸n̴o̶,̴ ̶n̷o̷ ̶n̵o̶ ̴n̵o̴-̴ ̸J̶a̶m̷e̶s̶-̶ ̵y̷o̷u̸ ̶d̶o̸n̴’̷t̴-̵ ̶w̶h̵a̴t̵ ̵w̶a̴s̴ ̸y̸o̸u̵r̵ ̶s̷i̶g̶n̵a̷t̸u̸r̸e̶ ̷v̸i̶d̶e̷o̵?̶”̵ _

Jameson had to think about that one.  _ *I can’t quite put my finger on it. It was definitely a Halloween video- was it pumpkin carving like we did the year before? Your signature video?* _

_ “Y̴e̵s̶-̵ ̶b̶u̴t̶ ̵d̷o̸ ̶y̸o̷u̵ ̸k̴n̵o̴w̶ ̶w̵h̷y̵ ̸y̷o̸u̸ ̸d̷o̸n̸’̵t̵ ̸r̸e̸m̵e̵m̴b̵e̸r̴ ̶a̸n̷y̵t̷h̵i̴n̴g̵?̴” _ Anti had pulled back, and was staring into his eyes like they contained the meaning of the universe.

_ *No- It could just be because it was so long ago- _ * He was grasping at straws, hoping to get the right answer. 

_ “I̴t̷ ̵w̴a̵s̷-̵ ̶i̴t̶ ̴w̵a̴s̸ ̵b̷e̴c̵a̴u̷s̴e̸ ̵I̵ ̶p̶o̵s̵s̸e̵s̵s̶e̶d̵ ̷y̵o̶u̸ ̴i̶n̵ ̸t̴h̵e̷ ̵m̷i̸d̸d̵l̷e̷ ̸o̷f̴ ̵i̶t̵ ̷J̷a̷m̴e̴s̶.̶ ̸I̵ ̵p̶o̷s̷s̵e̴s̶s̴e̶d̸ ̴y̴o̶u̵,̶ ̷a̵n̴d̷ ̸I̵ ̵s̷t̵o̸p̷p̶e̴d̴ ̸y̷o̵u̸r̸ ̷h̵e̴a̴r̶t̷.̵” _

The silence was pressing.  _ *What?*  _ His voice was faint, almost a whisper in the back of Anti’s mind. A few gloves appeared, sensing him emotions.

_ “I̴ ̷p̴o̶s̶s̷e̷s̴s̷e̵d̴ ̶y̴o̷u̶-̷ ̵i̵f̶ ̵I̴ ̷h̵a̴d̸n̶’̷t̸ ̵b̵e̵e̴n̵ ̶s̵o̸ ̴j̶e̵a̵l̶o̸u̶s̸-̸” _ But Jameson wasn’t listening, still in shock.

_ *Why would you do that? This- this isn’t a panic and a half. Please-* _

_ “I̸-̵ ̷I̶’̴m̸ ̸s̶o̶ ̸s̶o̴r̶r̴y̵-̷ ̴i̶f̸ ̴I̴ ̶h̵a̶d̴ ̸k̴n̵o̷w̵n̴ ̵a̸n̷y̷t̶h̴i̴n̸g̴ ̷a̶b̶o̵u̴t̴ ̸y̸o̴u̵-̴” _ Jameson’s mouth had fallen open in shock and approaching anger.

_ *Sorry- get bent! Does all of this mean nothing to you?! Did our friendship mean zilch?!*  _ A glove appeared with a knife and more held it back. It was apparently serious about protecting anyone who hurt JJ. Which he had.

_ “N̷o̴,̶ ̴n̶o̸!̷ ̸J̵a̸m̸e̴s̷-̸” _

_ *Did you mean to make a mockery of me?! Was you finding me a way to try to amend your ways?! I am not a mockery!*  _ Anti winced at the volume of JJ’s voice in his head. 

_ “J̶a̸m̶e̴s̷-̶ ̴p̷l̶e̸a̷s̷e̵ ̴l̶i̸s̶t̴e̶n̸-̷” _

_ *Listen to you?! You killed me and brought me back to life! Why on earth would you do that?!* _

_ “B̴E̷C̶A̴U̵S̶E̷ ̸I̷ ̷W̴A̴S̷ ̶J̸E̴A̶L̶O̵U̴S̷!̵ ̶B̴e̵c̷a̸u̵s̴e̶ ̸I̷ ̵w̴a̵s̶ ̶a̷ ̸s̵e̵l̸f̷i̵s̴h̶ ̵i̸d̷i̴o̵t̶ ̸w̵h̷o̶ ̸l̴i̶k̶e̶d̶ ̸t̸h̵e̷ ̴s̸p̸o̷t̸l̷i̴g̴h̸t̷!̴ ̸B̶e̵c̵a̴u̶s̷e̴ ̵I̶ ̸w̷a̸s̷ ̴a̵ ̵f̷u̶c̶k̷i̴n̶g̶ ̸m̶o̴n̷s̵t̵e̵r̵ ̶w̴h̷o̵ ̸s̴t̴i̸l̸l̴ ̴l̶i̴k̸e̸d̴ ̷t̶o̴ ̷s̴l̸i̵t̴ ̸p̸e̶o̸p̸l̴e̸’̵s̵ ̸t̵h̵r̸o̸a̴t̷s̷!̷ ̶B̵e̶c̸a̴u̶s̵e̴ ̷I̴ ̷d̵i̸d̴n̶’̸t̷ ̸k̷n̸o̷w̸ ̴a̶n̴y̶t̵h̵i̸n̸g̶ ̶a̶b̷o̴u̸t̵ ̴y̴o̴u̶!̵ ̴I̷’̸m̸ ̴t̶e̴l̴l̷i̷n̶g̶ ̵y̷o̶u̴ ̶t̸h̷i̸s̸ ̴b̴e̷c̶a̵u̷s̸e̴ ̵I̸ ̴c̸a̷r̸e̶ ̶a̴b̴o̸u̴t̶ ̵y̶o̵u̵!̶” His voice was hoarse from his silent shouting. “B̶e̸c̴a̴u̵s̵e̸ ̴I̸ ̸c̵o̶n̸s̶i̵d̵e̷r̷ ̷y̵o̴u̵ ̷a̷ ̷f̸r̶i̴e̵n̴d̸.̴” _

Jameson just blinked.  _ *Then why wait this long to tell me?!* _

_ “B̷E̸C̴A̴U̴S̷E̴ ̴I̷ ̶W̸A̷S̷ ̶S̶C̷A̷R̸E̵D̷!̶ ̵B̴e̴c̷a̴u̷s̷e̸ ̶I̸ ̷d̸i̵d̶n̷’̵t̴ ̴w̸a̷n̶t̸ ̷t̷o̶ ̵h̶u̶r̷t̶ ̷t̵h̶e̴ ̴o̸n̴e̶ ̶p̴e̵r̷s̴o̶n̵ ̴w̸h̶o̶ ̵I̸ ̴t̸h̴o̸u̶g̵h̸t̵ ̴t̶r̷u̷s̶t̶e̷d̶ ̶m̴e̴!̶ ̶I̵ ̴d̴i̶d̷n̸’̶t̷ ̴w̷a̸n̴t̶ ̶t̵o̴ ̴g̴o̴ ̶b̵a̶c̷k̶ ̵t̴o̶ ̸b̵e̶i̷n̷g̷ ̵a̶ ̸g̴i̴a̸n̷t̸ ̶d̸i̶s̶e̶a̴s̶e̷,̸ ̶h̵u̵r̷t̸i̸n̸g̶ ̶e̶v̷e̸r̵y̴t̵h̶i̵n̴g̶ ̵I̴ ̶c̶o̷m̷e̸ ̴t̵o̸ ̷c̵o̷n̵t̵a̵c̵t̴ ̷w̷i̵t̴h̴!̷” _

There was the sound of crickets in the background. JJ turned and waved a few gloves from the record player. 

He turned back towards Anti and stared him in the eyes so long his hands started to sweat. “U̵h̸-̴ ̶J̴a̴m̴e̴s̴?̶”

JJ just buried him in a hug. He glitched in surprise before slowly wrapping his arms around him. 

_ *Never hide something like that from me again, okay?*  _

Anti let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding and held the man closer to him. “I̷ ̵p̶r̴o̶m̷i̴s̴e̷.̴”̷

He just hoped that promise wouldn’t be too hard to keep. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anti angst!   
> This chapter wasn't too heavy on plot but it needed to happen. The next chapter should be fun, so I'll post that after I get another one written! Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed! Have a lovely day!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I ended up writing four chapters today.... welp I did say I was going to post when I wrote another chapter... so here you guys go! 
> 
> Host is like exposition goals oh my god...

Dark knocked softly on the library door, planning the conversation in his head. Host paused in his mutterings. “Darkiplier walks in with a quiet knock. What is it that Dark requires?”

|Have you ever died Host?| _That was sudden._

Host paused. “The Host wonders whether Dark means literally or metaphorically.” His fingers traced the edges of a nearby plague doctor mask sitting on a small table. 

|Literally. Face it, we’ve all died metaphorically.| 

Host turned on his heel to face him, brows furrowed under his bandages. “The Host wishes to dodge the question.”

|The Host needs to give Darkiplier an answer.|

“The Host does not need to give Darkiplier an answer. The Host believes it to be private business.”

|It’s a simple question Host. I don’t want to needle you.|

Host turned back to the mask and replaced the glass case. “The Host wonders why you lied to Antisepticeye on the purpose of meeting the Host here.”

|Who says I don’t have multiple reasons to come here?|

“Fine. Scratch that.  _ The Host believes it to be private business… I don’t want to needle you…  _ The Host wonders why you didn’t tell Anti the complete truth of your coming here.” Host sounded slightly exasperated as he made the alteration. It made sense- he was the one least likely to adhere to Host’s narrations. 

|Because I didn’t want to bother him with what he was doing. How’s that going by the way?|

Host sighed. “Antisepticeye and Jameson Jackson are reconciling. Why does Darkiplier wish to confront the Host on the subject of death this evening?”

Was it evening? Huh. Time had gone away from him again. |Because you know the parameters of being a demon and I’m curious whether you are one as well.|

“That was all Darkiplier had to say. The Host, now comfortable to stop dancing around the topic nearly as much, asks him to repeat his previous question to more effect.”

|Have you ever died Host?|

“Darkiplier asks, fed up with the Host’s narrating. He wishes for Host to just answer already-”

|Host...|

“-and Host acquiesces with a reluctant confirmation.” Host went back to his stack of books. “Darkiplier is now done asking questions-”

|Nope, sorry, not done yet.| Host paused.

“Darkiplier is now done asking questions.”

|No.|

Host grit his teeth. “Darkiplier continues to pester Host with disobedient action after disobedient action, pressing a subject that skirts the Host’s comfort zone. Darkiplier soon gives up, agreeing to stop stepping on the Host’s toes-” His words were clipped.

|Not in your wildest dreams.|

Host let out a slow breath, rolling his shoulders and turning back towards Dark. “Darkiplier continues to ask questions.”

|There we go. I wasn’t actually lying though- will you ever end up playing piano?|

“The Host has no delight in musical instruments.”

|Thank you Host. You have saved me a great deal of headache.|

“Darkiplier continues to ask questions.” He sounded resigned.

|Damn right. I have a lot. Been saving them for a while. First, how do you know about the gloves? I heard something about JJ sending Jack to you with the gloves before we… erm, barged into his room. What was all of that about?|

“The Host knows a lot of things. Host did indeed tend to Jack before sending him to Doctor Schneeplestein for a better look, after sending the gloves to keep Darkiplier, Wilford, and Anti from being attacked.”

|Thank you for that by the way.| Host ignored him. 

“Host knows of the gloves’s oath to protect him in exchange for companionship and protection in turn, an agreement of which Jameson Jackson only knows the half of. They are not demonic in origin, neither are they separate egos. They are merely characters given a life of their own through Jameson’s debut video as helpers. Their importance has expanded in daily life to more than what they were in video.”

|Huh. And what was the deal?|

“It was a dark and silent evening-”

|Only the gist of it, not specifics please.|

Host huffed. “JJ knew not of them until they approached looking for a protector. He has few memories of his signature video-”

|Why?| He remembered almost all of his main appearances. 

“Shock. Darkiplier shall refrain from interrupting further. JJ knew not of them… He has few memories of his signature video for a multitude of reasons, and swiftly agreed to serve as a protector. He expected little in return, unknowing of what lay ahead in his path-”

|So he took that job as a protector knowing nothing about them?|

“The Host confirms his statement. Darkiplier is met with the sudden urge to do speak to the Googles, Wilford Warfstache, and Doctors Iplier and Schneeplestein-”

|Okay, okay, I get the hint. Thank you Host. Just one more question.|

“Darkiplier asks his question.” Host sighed.

|How did you become a demon?|

Host froze. “Darkiplier retracts his question and leaves.”

|Host-|

“Darkiplier retracts his question and leaves, not worried about Host’s wellbeing and forgetting he asked the last question.” He wasn’t going to say anything.

|Was it how you lost your eyes?|

Host turned towards him. “Darkiplier leaves. Now. Effective immediately.”

He sighed and walked out. He really shouldn’t have pestered Host. But he needed to talk to Wilford, the Googles, and the Doctors. Host was right about one thing.

He sighed again but more fondly and followed the faint sounds of disco. 

 

\---------

 

JJ and Anti were playing Cards Against Humanity in the Living room when they watched Dark stalk through with purpose, evidently not seeing either of them. 

_ *You think we should follow him chap?* _

Anti grinned. “I̸ ̶l̶i̸k̴e̴ ̷t̷h̷e̷ ̶w̵a̵y̴ ̷y̴o̸u̴ ̴t̶h̷i̸n̷k̴.̵”

One of the gloves that was playing with them threw down their cards and disappeared in a huff. 

They got up and moved in the direction where Dark had been walking. They paused at the sound of Disco. He was heading to Wilford’s room. 

Interesting….

 

\----------

 

Wilford was having a fine time dancing when Abe came in. He gave a big smile. “Abe! Man, is it good to see you!”

“Cut the shit. Where were you-” Wilford put a finger on his mouth. 

“SHhhhhhhHhhH… Shh. We’ve done this so many times. Why can’t we just relax? Like we did that one time- you, me, some disco….” Abe holstered the gun.

“I swear, you never let me have any fun anymore.”

“Shh. Did I say you could talk?” Abe looked confused.

“You asked me a question?”

“Did I? Huh. I forgot. Crank it up!” He turned away and the music became louder, efficiently masking any words. 

|Wilford?|

The music juttered to a stop, and the people melted away. “Huh? Oh, hello Darky. How can I help you?”

|I was going to ask a question, but I suppose it can wait. What is all this?|

“It’s my room silly! I make it look like a disco bar for fun! Want a drink?”

|Wilford-| But Wilford was already pushing one into his hand. 

“There. Celene used to like those. You know she was the one who taught me piano?”

|I- yes, yes I do- Wilford, you’re backtracking again. I need to talk to you-|

“You said it can wait, can’t it? Let’s get this party started-”

|Wilford! It’s a figure of speech! I need to talk to you!|

Wilford turned on his heel, the surroundings going back to his normal room. He sat on a chair. “Fine. What did you need to say? I see it simply cannot wait.” Wilford sure seemed to be in a mood. 

|I wanted to tell you that I talked to Host and Anti and that the Googles and the Doctors are getting curious. I wanted you to come with me to talk to them.|

“Well why do you need me? Anti or Host could do that job much better. Maybe even JJ-” He sipped a martini.

|Because I don’t want to leave you out of the loop. Are you going to come and watch me talk to them, or mope here alone?|

“Well-”

Dark reached forwards. |Wilford. As a friend I don’t want you to do this to yourself. Let’s go have some fun asking questions, and then I will be happy to leave you here to your disco-|

“Only if you dance.”

|Wilford, you know I can’t dance.|

“Bullshit. Celene used to dance beautifully. Damien wasn’t half bad either. You can dance, and you will. No argument.”

Dark sighed and stood up. “Fine, fine. I’ll do one song. But please- just come out and talk with me.|

“Well of course! I was going to do it whether you agreed or not, but that’s just a plus!”

|Wilford!|

“Oh shush it, you know you’ll have fun!”

Dark just sighed and let Wilford drag him out. Right into Anti and JJ. 

|Were you trying to spy on us?|

Anti and JJ just kind of stood there, stock still. “̵U̸h̸…̵ ̴n̸o̵?̵”

“Nice try. You know we aren’t supposed to catch you! You want to talk to the Googles and Doctors Inc. with us?”

They looked at Dark. He just sighed and motioned down the hall. JJ smiled and Anti glitched ahead, appearing down the hall with a smirk. “Y̵a̷ ̶c̵o̷m̶i̴n̵g̵ ̸o̶r̴ ̴w̶h̷a̴t̷?̷”̵

They followed him down the hall. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a great day! Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a love/hate relationship with ruining a character's day. Poor Chase.

Chase was walking down towards the Mind Palace. For such an extravagant name, the house was a rather small and charming place compared to Egos Inc.

  
He ran up the steps and knocked on the door. He was about to ring the doorbell when a figure on his left shot him with a familiar foam bullet. He smirked and scooped it up, feeling the familiar plastic of his signature gun appear fully loaded. He pointed it towards the bushes. Roman came out with his hands up.

  
“Don’t shoot me fair warrior! I believe it will be worth your time!”

  
Chase was going to stand down when he saw Roman’s eyes flick over his shoulder and he instinctively ducked and rolled, shooting Roman and turning to shoot Deceit in the chest. The bullets disappeared and his gun reloaded.

  
Virgil swung down from the roof of the porch. “Dude that was epic! How did you-” He swung to the side to avoid getting hit. “Rude.”

  
Chase panted, the bullet reappearing in his gun. “Sorry. You scared me. Nerf War I take it?”

  
“Yep. Three of us against three of them. Want to join?”

  
“I mean- I could just surprise them and knock all of you out.~”

  
Virgil paled and sprung up as the others turned to run. He deftly shot Deceit in the back and Roman in the head, running off and leaping over the fence as both of his bullets reappeared. He caught his breath, back against the fence, ears listening for Virgil. He crossed his fingers and shot straight up. A yelp answered his plea. He gave a grin as the bullet reappeared, glowing a dark grey. A solid hit. He snuck towards the kitchen, hat pulled low over his eyes and ears scoping out for any sound. He heard a singular step of feet on carpet before popping up and taking three shots into the room before ducking back down.

  
He waited for any bullets to come over the windowsill. He checked his gun. Two glowed- one grey and another light blue. Only Logan was left, if he’d deduced the sides correctly. The lesser characters must be staying out of this. Or doing something else. He stayed quiet and listened to Remy’s confused rambling and Patton trying to calm him down. They would be covering up any good sounds…

  
He decided to move towards the backyard- nobody would stay in that room if they were smart. Besides- Logan was probably upstairs. He put the handle of his gun in his mouth and looked at the tree growing next to the house. Doable enough. That’s probably how Virgil got up if he didn’t teleport.

  
He began to climb, ears straining for any noise. He heard a faint creak. Ah, he’d forgotten the placing of a creaky board. He ducked through an open window and rolled, his gun in his hands. He’d made too much noise. Crap.

  
He scoped out the hallways, catching a faint glimpse of a figure dashing into a bedroom.

  
“Virgil? Is that you? Did Patton and Remy get Roman and Deceit?”

  
He tried to replicate Virgil’s voice. “Yeah! It worked out perfectly!”

  
There was a pause. “I didn’t make a plan with Virgil. Come out, hands where I can see them!” Chase shot a bullet down the hall and waited for Logan to appear. He did, and Chase shot him in the shoulder.

  
Logan looked down. “Oh dear. Who has bested me?” He sounded resigned.

  
Chase popped out from behind the nearest door with a sheepish grin. “Hiya.”

  
“Chase? I don’t recall-”

  
“Nah, I came up and shot the rest. I think Patton is making cookies from the smell though.”

  
“Satisfactory. Do you wish to come downstairs?”

  
“I mean- I came to visit.”

  
“Good. Come on then.”

  
They went down the stairs. Patton laughed when he saw the two of them. “Chase you scoundrel! I didn’t even know you were here!”

  
“I rang the bell.”

  
“Broken I’m afraid. Remy, I told you to put up a sign!”

  
Sleep just shrugged and sipped at his drink. “Nice shot.”

  
“Thanks. I’m not Bro Average for nothing. You see-”

  
“CHARGE!”

  
Roman, Deceit, and Virgil burst through the door. Chase immediately shot all three in the stomachs without doing so much as moving his arm. He realized his eyes were screwed shut. Oh.

  
“How the- your eyes were closed!”

  
He just shrugged. “I don’t know- I’ve had perfect marks ever since…” He trailed off. That day. When he’d woken up from his procedure.

  
“Since what? Chase, you left off half of a sentence.”

  
He walked backwards towards the door. “I- I’m sorry, but I have to go. I’ll come by tomorrow or something- sorry.” He ran out of the open door, leaving the six of them to stand there confused.

  
“Well shoot. I was going to offer him some jam to take home.”

  
Patton snickered. “You made a dad joke.”

  
Logan just groaned.

 

\--------

 

“HEY DARK!” The house was silent as Chase ran in. “DARK?”

  
Marvin looked up. “I think he’s down with the Googles. Is there anything I can do?”

  
“Sorry Marv, but this is only something he can do. Thanks!” He ran downstairs to the lab. He skidded to a stop to a very busy workshop. “What is going on?”

  
Dark and JJ looked over. Anti and Wilford were still explaining things.

  
“So basically we died and came back to life-”

  
“A̶n̵d̸ ̴n̷o̵w̸ ̴w̵e̶ ̴h̴a̴v̵e̶ ̶w̸e̶i̴r̵d̷ ̴s̸h̸i̸t̷ ̵l̵i̸k̷e̷ ̵r̵e̴a̷l̶i̷t̴y̶ ̶b̸e̵n̶d̵i̶n̸g̸ ̸a̵n̶d̴ ̸t̷e̵l̷e̷p̷o̵r̴t̸a̷t̸i̴o̷n̵.”

  
Chase’s body went on autopilot as his brain whirred. He spun around and walked straight out of the room, brain filled with static.

  
|Chase?|

  
He didn’t respond, marching back towards his room.

  
“H̸e̸y̸ ̸C̶h̶a̴s̸e̸!̴”

  
He felt a hand on his arm and he pointed his Nerf gun at the person, eyes blank. JJ let go, face worried.

  
*Chase? What’s wrong?*

  
He just shook his head and opened the door to his room.

  
JJ pushed open the door. *Chase. Chase, what’s wrong-*

  
“Schneep never told you that I died on the operating table, did he?”

  
*What?*

  
“He never told me either- I saw his notes on it a month or two after the procedure. I asked him about it and he said he didn’t want to hurt me. Is that a good reason to lie? To keep people from hurting? I think it hurts more to find out about the truth, wouldn’t you?”

  
*I suppose- I guess it does hurt. But you learn to let it go because that’s being human.*

  
|Chase?| The door was pushed open. |Chase, are you alright?|

  
“No. I died on the operating table. Schneep doesn’t know how I am still alive. Isn’t it awful being lied to?”

  
|Chase, you’re backtracking. I swear if I’d had any idea I would have told you-|

  
“Does that mean that I’m technically dead? That all of this is just an afterlife? Please don’t tell me it is.”

  
|It isn’t Chase. Trust me. You’re just like me, and Wil, and Host, and Anti, and JJ. We’ve all died and come back to life and we’re fine.|

  
*Fine is relative my dear chap, but if it makes you feel better…* Dark sent him a look.

  
|You’re not helping.|

  
*Sorry. Chase, I know it’s a lot to take in, but you’re going to be fine. Nothing’s changed, nothing’s different- you’re still the amazing Chase Brody we all learned to tolerate.*

  
Chase gave a bit of a laugh. “I guess. Man, the last few days have been crazy.”

  
|Yes…. weirdly so. Maybe things will settle down and we can actually spend time with our creators. Maybe without punching them in the faces?|

  
“I said I was sorry!”

  
*Granted, the last time we saw them I almost stabbed someone. I think chaos just follows them.*

  
“You stabbed someone?! How did I miss this?!”

  
|Key word is almost. The person in question was Madpat.|

  
“Ooohhh… reasonable.”

  
*You hear about the time Phantom knocked Mare out by singing?*

  
“How many stories do you have?!”

  
*Enough for, oh, five or six chapters.*

  
“That’s oddly specific…”

  
|Don’t question it. You good for dinner?|

  
“Shit! I forgot I was cooking!”

  
He raced out of the door.

 

\------

 

They were eating pizza while Chase apologized over and over. “I’m so sorry guys I totally forgot I was cooking and-”

  
|Chase, relax. We all like pizza. If you really want to you can cook tomorrow night.|

  
Chase just nodded and sat down to finally start eating. The slice disappeared from his hand just before he took a bite. “Marvin!”

  
Marvin shrugged and took the bite of pizza Chase had been denied. “What? It tastes better when it’s stolen.”

  
Chase just let out a half-hearted groan and grabbed another slice. “Fine. Check-in. How’s everybody doing?”

  
There was a chorus of ‘good’s. Jack and Mark looked stunned. Ah, they hadn’t done a formal dinner with them yet.

  
“It’s a baseline way to see how everything’s functioning and whether we need to make the next meeting more about helping each other. If one of us isn’t in the best head space they are legally obligated to answer with something other than a ‘good’, which is our equivalent of neutral. More pizza?”

  
They stared at him like he had two heads.

  
“Holy heck Chase you are such a father.”

  
Chase gave a cheesy grin. “Natural talent. Any more questions before I’m too busy eating?”

 

“So are you like the leader or-”

  
He shook his head, turning back towards his plate. “Nah, that’s more Dark’s thing, leading. I prefer caretaker. Someone has to keep you all from dying, now don’t they?”

  
The Jims nudged each other, giggling. Dark raised a brow and they immediately fell silent.

  
“What’s up Jimsquad?”

  
They fidgeted in their seats. Dark sighed. |For the last time I’m not going to kill you. Just because you annoy me sometimes-|

  
“All the time.”

  
|Hush Wilford. Relax. You are in this house, aren’t you? Now calm down and answer Chase.|

  
They giggled again and Chase saw one of them raising a familiar looking weapon.

  
He hit the deck as the three of them started raining nerf bullets over the table to suprised shouts and groans. Anti, who had been sitting next to him, grabbed his arm and they disappeared into pixels. They re-appeared in Anti’s room.

  
“Thanks. What about the others?”

  
Anti grinned and opened a drawer, taking out a massive Nerf gun. “̸W̷a̸n̸n̷a̴ ̴g̵i̴v̴e̵ ̷t̵h̵e̴m̷ ̷h̴e̶l̸l̷?̶”

  
Chase’s gun appeared in his hand, and he habitually checked the amount of bullets. “Heck yeah! Man, did they get the idea from the Sanders or something? I wiped the floor with them earlier.”

  
“P̶r̴o̷b̶a̶b̶l̷y̶.̵ ̴P̶a̸t̴t̸o̴n̷ ̵l̸o̸v̸e̵s̶ ̶b̴r̵i̸n̷g̶i̸n̴g̵ ̷t̷h̶e̵m̵ ̸c̴o̵o̸k̵i̸e̴s̶.̶”

  
He sighed. “Great. Now they’ll be all sugared up. Strategy?”

  
“T̸a̵k̶e̷ ̵o̴u̸t̷ ̶W̶i̴l̸f̵o̸r̶d̸,̵ ̶h̸e̷’̴s̵ ̷t̶h̶e̴ ̸b̸e̸s̶t̵ ̸w̵i̵t̶h̶ ̷a̴ ̵g̸u̷n̵.̷ ̵T̶h̷e̶n̷ ̶t̴h̶e̸ ̵J̸i̷m̵s̴,̶ ̶b̸e̶c̴a̸u̷s̴e̵ ̵t̴h̴e̴y̴ ̵h̵a̸v̷e̷ ̴n̴u̴m̵b̵e̶r̶s̶ ̶a̴n̴d̸ ̴r̷e̸c̵k̸l̸e̶s̶s̸n̷e̴s̴s̸.̵ ̷A̵f̷t̵e̵r̴ ̵t̶h̴a̵t̸…̴ ̷m̸a̷y̴b̴e̴ ̵J̷J̴ ̶o̷r̷ ̵J̴a̸c̶k̸i̸e̴b̵o̸y̶,̶ ̷t̷h̸e̶y̷ ̸b̸o̴t̶h̷ ̴h̶a̴v̵e̴ ̷g̸o̶o̶d̷ ̷r̵e̷f̴l̷e̸x̵e̵s̶ ̶a̸n̸d̶ ̷J̷J̵’̸s̵ ̵t̸h̶e̵ ̸q̷u̷i̶e̷t̵e̷s̶t̴ ̵s̶o̸ ̶a̶s̸ ̸e̶a̷r̷l̷y̷ ̴a̵s̸ ̶p̸o̶s̷s̵i̴b̸l̸e̶ ̴w̶o̶u̸l̵d̸ ̵b̸e̵ ̴g̶r̷e̸a̷t̵.̸ ̷D̸a̴r̷k̸ ̶w̸o̴u̶l̸d̵ ̵b̸e̸ ̴g̸o̵o̷d̴ ̸t̷o̶o̵…̵ ̵af̸t̴e̵r̷ ̶W̴i̶l̵f̵o̴r̶d̴ ̴i̴t̷’̴s̷ ̵f̸r̷e̷e̸ ̷g̴a̵m̴e̸ ̴r̸e̶a̸l̷l̴y̷.̵”̸

  
“You’ve thought this out.”

  
“W̴e̴l̷l̶ ̷w̵h̸a̵t̷ ̴e̷l̶s̵e̵ ̸i̶s̷ ̸t̸h̴e̶r̶e̷ ̶t̵o̴ ̴d̷o̶ ̴i̶n̶ ̸m̵e̷e̸t̵i̷n̴g̵s̷?̶”

  
He didn’t have an answer for that. “Okay, what can I do? I’m pretty good with a gun-”

  
“W̴h̵a̴t̸,̵ ̷y̷o̶u̸ ̷g̶o̷i̸n̸g̵ ̷t̵o̴ ̴m̸a̸r̵c̵h̵ ̵i̸n̷t̶o̶ ̵a̶ ̷r̴o̷o̶m̶ ̵a̵n̷d̸ ̷j̴u̷s̶t̵ ̴f̵i̵r̴e̵ ̵a̶t̵ ̶e̴v̶e̵r̵y̷o̴n̴e̵ ̵w̸i̵t̴h̷ ̸y̴o̶u̸r̸ ̴e̶y̴e̷s̸ ̸c̷l̶o̵s̷e̷d̴?̵ ̵W̶h̷a̴t̷ ̵d̸o̵ ̴y̶o̷u̴ ̷w̶a̴n̷t̴ ̶t̸o̷ ̶d̵o̸?̷”̸

  
Chase felt a familiar grin go across his face. The grin of a challenge. Anti’s eyes narrowed.

  
“C̸h̸a̴s̴e̸-̴”

  
He was already out the door, gun in hand and blood pumping. He screwed his eyes shut and just started firing, summoning the bullets back every time he heard a squawk of surprise. He marched through, hearing the sound of people dramatically flopping to the floor.

  
“Oh no! I’ve been hit!”

 

  
“Run Jim run! Save yourself!”

  
“Chase what the fuck-?”

  
He opened his eyes to see everyone flopped on the floor except for Anti and Wilford. Shit-

  
Wilford’s gun flashed- he heard a yelp of ‘NO!’ and he felt something bounce off of his forehead. So he shot Wilford in the foot.

  
“Does that count? You shot me first… so no, that doesn’t count. You win Wil.” Everybody just stared at him. “What?” He noticed Wilford’s gun. It was an actual gun. “Fuck!”

He dropped his gun and felt his forehead. Nothing.

  
“WHAT THE FUCK?!” The whole room screamed in unison.

  
Wilford stepped closer, looking at his forehead. “Well isn’t that different. Sorry there chap, I thought I had my Nerf Gun.”

  
“S̷e̶r̴i̶o̴u̷s̴l̶y̴?̸!̴ ̶T̷h̸a̴t̴’̸s̷ ̴h̷i̶s̵ ̵p̴o̵w̸e̷r̶?̵!̴ ̴T̴h̴a̴t̵’̵s̷ ̴s̵o̴ ̶f̸u̶c̴k̶i̵n̴g̵ ̵c̸o̸o̴l̵-̶”̶

  
“WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING?!” Mark shouted from the other side of the room.

  
“It appears that I’m bulletproof. Interesting.” He was still kind of in shock.

  
“You find out that you’re bulletproof and you just think it’s fucking interesting?!” Jack screamed from over by Mark.

  
“Well I wouldn’t know, I’ve never been bulletproof before!” He retorted.

  
*Guys, guys. Let’s not let this get out of hand!*

  
The door swung open. “Uh- what’s going on here?”

  
A figure stood there dressed in purple, with hair the colour of grape soda. He looked like one of the Sanders… wait-

  
“Virgil?”

  
“Virgil! Love the new hair!”

  
“Zat jacket is razer nice too.”

  
“Uh- thanks? I heard shouting-”

  
“Oh, yeah, we just figured out I’m bulletproof. What’s up?”

  
“Oh. Just wanted to check in, you know… you kind of ran out earlier… but you seem fine so I’ll go… see ya guys around-”

  
“Okay then! See you later then Virgil!”

  
Virgil poofed away in a puff of black smoke. They went back to their forgotten pizza.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NERF WAR!  
> So yeah. Chase is bulletproof and a Demon. Honestly though- who isn't at this point?  
> Anywayyyy I hope you all have a good day! Thank you for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the cliffhanger in advance.

“So what are we doing?”

“Well I figured we could have a party! The whole Void is invited-”

“̶S̷o̶ ̴i̷t̷’̴s̷ ̵l̸i̶k̵e̶ ̴a̵ ̵C̶h̷r̸i̴s̶t̶m̷a̷s̸ ̶P̷a̶r̸t̵y̶ ̷b̸u̴t̵ ̴i̴t̷’̷s̴ ̶n̵o̵t̸ ̷C̸h̵r̴i̴s̸t̷m̶a̶s̴.̸”

“Exactly!”

|Interesting… why do you come to us with this idea Patton?|

Patton shrugged, his cat hoodie bouncing over the place. “Well, I know our house isn’t large enough for so many people, and I mean, we could find another spot but since you’ll probably be coming anyway I figured I’d ask! I can have the Calender Crew set everything up so you don’t have to do anything-”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea! They all looked towards Jackieboy. 

_ “Really?” _

|I mean, it is something we’ve never done before, but I suppose we can mix things up a bit. Do you want to go ask the Jims-|

“-you called?” The three Jims poked their heads through the doorway. 

|-to go deliver invitations to the inhabitants of the Void excluding Madpat.|

There were a few flinches at the name. 

“Uh- all of them? Including Natemare and Phantom?”

|Was that not what I just said? If you cannot find them so be it, but don’t forget to go in numbers. Borrow the music box from Host if you feel it to be necessary.|

“Aye aye Captain!” They saluted and ran away to go write invitations. Dark coughed. 

|Well now that that is done-|

There was a knock. Robbie appeared in the doorway. 

“Oh hey Robbie!”

“Uh, hi. Sorry to interrupt, really sorry, but Jack and Mark said to tell you that they have to leave. Thought it was important. Sorry.”

“It’s fine champ! We’ll be right down if you can convince them to wait for a few minutes!” Robbie nodded and ducked out. 

“You can go and say goodbye! We can talk about this later! I can wait! In the meantime I should probably text Jericho or Apollo to see if they can wrangle them together anyway!”

“I̴f̷ ̷y̷o̷u̴’̷r̴e̶ ̶s̶u̵r̷e̵.̵”

“You must have me confused with someone else. Name’s Patton!” Chase gave him a high-five while Anti and Dark gave their equivalents of sighs and/or groans. 

They popped downstairs, Chase courtesy of Anti. Chase gave Jack a smile. 

“I was nice to see you again. Sorry for punching you in the face.” He winced. “Multiple times.”

“I healed up fine. Just ask about stuff like a normal person next time. It was great to see ya too ya idiot.” They did a bro-hug. Anti teleported in front of his creator. 

“D̴o̴n̶’̴t̵ ̴d̶i̷e̶.̶ ̸T̴h̸a̶t̴’̴s̶ ̸a̷ ̸l̶o̷t̴ ̴o̸f̶ ̸p̶a̶p̸e̷r̴w̸o̶r̸k̶.̵ ̴S̶l̴e̶e̵p̵ ̸s̶o̸m̸e̵t̶i̶m̸e̶s̶-̸ ̶y̶o̸u̸r̸ ̵f̸a̴n̵s̴ ̴w̵a̶n̶t̴ ̷y̸o̶u̷ ̴t̴o̸ ̷t̸a̶k̵e̴ ̷c̷a̷r̶e̸ ̶o̷f̶ ̷y̶o̴u̷r̴s̶e̶l̵f̶.̵ ̸I̸’̸m̶ ̵n̷o̴t̶ ̵g̸o̴i̷n̶g̵ ̸t̵o̴ ̴s̶a̴y̵ ̷i̵t̶ ̵w̶a̶s̶ ̷n̷i̴c̴e̴ ̵t̷o̶ ̶s̸e̸e̸ ̶y̵o̷u̴ ̵‘̸c̷a̸u̴s̶e̸ ̶t̷h̷a̶t̸ ̵w̵o̶u̴l̴d̵ ̶b̴e̶ ̵a̵ ̴l̶i̴e̷.̴” 

“Aww, love you too buddy.” Jack tickled Sam on the top of his head and tossed him into the air. Sam squealed and went back into Jack’s hoodie. 

“C̷m̵o̸n̸ ̶S̴a̵m̶,̸ ̷h̴e̶ ̵h̷a̷s̶ ̴t̷o̴ ̸l̷e̴a̸v̵e̵.̷” Sam shook his body and nuzzled into his hood more. Anti sighed. “I̵t̵ ̵l̴o̶o̶k̷s̷ ̷l̷i̶k̵e̶ ̷y̴o̷u̶ ̶h̴a̵v̵e̶ ̶a̴ ̵s̸t̸o̵w̸a̶w̶a̷y̸ ̸J̶a̴c̷k̸.̷ ̸L̶e̸t̸ ̷m̸e̵ ̶g̵e̷t̷ ̴s̷o̷m̵e̸ ̶s̷t̴u̴f̶f̵.̴”

“Wait- what?! You- you want to come with me Sam?!” Sam trilled happily and snuggled next to his neck. “I mean- what about videos?! They could see you moving or… I dunno. I don’t even know how to take care of you!”

“H̷e̴ ̶j̷u̶s̷t̵ ̵n̷e̶e̵d̴s̴ ̴w̶a̴t̶e̷r̶ ̶a̷n̸d̶ ̸w̵h̸a̶t̷e̸v̸e̴r̷ ̷y̶o̴u̴ ̸e̶a̸t̶.̷ ̶H̴e̶’̶s̵ ̶n̸o̷t̸ ̴p̷a̶r̵t̵i̵c̴u̸l̴a̸r̶l̸y̵ ̴p̷i̶c̴k̷y̸.̴ ̷Y̵o̵u̴ ̵s̸u̵r̸e̷ ̵a̷b̵o̷u̵t̷ ̴t̶h̸i̶s̷ ̷S̵a̶m̵?̸”̶

Sam quieted and flew over towards Anti, hitting him gently on the forehead. He seemed to smile. Anti sighed. 

“A̶l̸r̴i̵g̵h̸t̴ ̶y̵o̶u̷ ̴g̷o̵o̶b̸e̴r̴.̸ ̷I̴ ̸g̴e̸t̶ ̷i̴t̴.̷ ̸D̵o̶n̵’̷t̵ ̴g̶i̴v̸e̴ ̷h̵i̶m̴ ̷t̶o̷o̷ ̵m̵u̴c̴h̴ ̶t̷r̴o̴u̴b̵l̴e̴,̶ ̶o̶k̸a̷y̴?̸”  _ God I’ll miss you. _

Sam booped his forehead again and flew back towards Jack. Dark coughed. 

|Prepared?|

“As much as we can be.”

|You know what to expect.|

“See ya guys.” 

“Bye Mark.”

“Buh-bye!”

“Until we meet again.”

|It will be cold. Don’t forget to keep your eyes closed-|

“Why again?” Dark looked at him. “Probably death? Yeah. Okay, death for sure. Let’s blow this popsicle stand.”

Dark grabbed both of their arms and they disappeared into shadows. 

 

\--------

 

They were looking across the small crowd. A surprisingly large amount of people had shown up- Grizzly, Dark!Dan, most of the Sanders’s characters… They were playing a playlist of songs their creators had, and the microwave was watching a movie. It was all good. 

The Jims were playing Twister, a group of people were playing Uno, there were games set up in the left corner… 

The Calendar Crew had done a great job. 

God that was a stupid name. 

“Hey Jack’s streaming!” 

Heads popped up from around the room. “Well put it on you idiots!”

|Thanks for your input Tom. Are the donation sites loaded yet?|

There were a few cries of alarm as people pulled out laptops and tablets. 

Jack’s stream came up. 

[Hey guys! We’re donating to a new charity today-]

They all settled down on various surfaces to watch. There were frantic amounts of typing. 

[Donation from BriarBear! You’re going on the wall!] Grizzly gave a massive grin as Bim groaned. 

“Aw man! I wanted to go on first!”

[Oh wow- there’s a lot of ya! TheGreatestShowman, NatemareOnElmStreet, PhantomOfTheOpera, BlankNameSpace, TheBetterDark, DarkerYetDarker… You get a wall! You get a wall! Everybody gets a wall!]

Jack wrote down the names as quickly as possible. [Thank you guys! So we’re going to play some Fortnite today-]

“So who was TheBetterDark and DarkerYetDarker?”

Dark!Dan and Dark both raised their hands. 

“It’s not our fault we have such a similar name!”

|I am objectively the better one of the two of us though.|

“Oh shut it you.”

[Woah- $500 from TheHuntForBedOctober!]

They all looked over at October, who was smirking. September grew red in the face. “Not on my watch!”

There was the now-familiar sound of a horn on the screen. 

**$550 donated by RememberSeptember!**

**$600 donated by TheHuntForBedOctober!**

**$650 donated by RememberSeptember!**

**$1000 donated by KnockItOffNovember!**

The room fell silent. 

[Seems to have been a challenge! Welp, you’re all going on the wall!]

“You never let me have any fun!”

“Oh knock it off!”

**$0.50 donated by LookBehindYou!!**

Jack laughed. [Heh. Welp, onto another round!]

**$0.50 donated by ImNotKidding!!**

**$0.50 donated by ForFucksSake!!**

**$0.50 donated by JACK-YOU-ASSHOLE!!**

Jack looked behind him, and they noticed something. The little pile of Sam plushies had moved, And the helmet was shaking. 

Anti had vanished. 

They could only watch as the screen glitched and Jack looked off-screen. [What the-]

[F̷u̸c̸k̶ ̵o̶f̵f̸ ̷y̶e̷ ̵b̵a̷s̵t̶a̷r̸d̵!̸]

They heard a familiar laugh and they froze. 

[Oh, no. That’s no fun! Besides,] Madpat looked into the camera. [How would they enjoy the show?]

The screen went black. Phantom and Mare disappeared in a flash of red smoke and purple light. Dark did the same in a whirl of red and blue. Wilford pulled out his gun and took three shots into the ceiling to get the crowd silent. Virgil’s hands were covering his ears. 

“ **SHUT UP!** ”

The room quieted. 

“ **Okay. Okay. Wh** at can we do to help them?”

JJ had his hands pressed to his head, hat having fallen onto the floor when they all jumped earlier. His eyes were screwed shut.  _ *I’m trying to get some kind of connection. Hold on-*  _ He flinched.  _ *Dark’s not responding, but that could just be because it’s hard to get into his head. Anti’s jumbled- I can’t sort out much other than anger. Jack- he’s jumbled too. I can’t reach either of them.*  _  He winced. * _ Remind me never to try getting into Mare’s head again. Phantom… aha! Can you hear me?*  _ His voice seemed to echo more as if he was yelling down a long tunnel. 

JJ went completely silent, eyes screwed shut in concentration. After about thirty seconds he slumped over, completely out of it. His gloves had barely kept him from hitting the ground when there was a loud knock at the door. 

After a few seconds they knocked again. JJ was still unconscious. They banged harder, the sound… strange. 

The doors burst open and a figure staggered in. His arms were swathed in white bandages, and he held a hand over his chest like he’d just gotten stabbed or something. 

Wire looked at everyone. “What happened to Phantom?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Evil laughter* 
> 
> Sorry for the cliffhanger! I'll post the next chapter sometime in the next week or so I just need to write a bit more of a buffer in case I don't write on it for a while.   
> Thank you for reading! I hope you all have a great day!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: General Insanity (Mad), Stabbing (Keeping this a secret but you can probably guess with that cliffhanger from last chapter), Mind Manipulation (Also Mad), And a bunch of overall angst. Yay. 
> 
> (If any of this bothers you I will be leaving a summary in the description, so stay safe, okay?)

 

 

Mare felt a tingling on the corners of his mind. He pushed it away impatiently. He was staring at Mad incredulously. 

“How did you get out?!”

Mad giggled, a sound far more unhinged since the last time he saw him. “Wouldn’t you like to know? Step away from my subject.”

“N̴o̵!̸ ̷F̵u̵c̶k̸ ̸o̵f̸f̵!̵” Anti pointed a knife at him.

“Whoop! Sorry, can’t do that! I have science to do! And as for anyone who gets in my way, well…” He smacked the knife out of Anti’s hand and plunged it into Phantom’s chest all the way to the hilt in one smooth motion. Phantom gasped, what little color was in his face draining from it sharply. A small whine escaped his lips as Mare caught him with shaking arms, vision blacking out for a split second and knees threatening to buckle from the sting that had appeared in his own chest. “They will be made an example of. Sorry not sorry!”

“You’re sick!” Jack cried from where he was currently squished against the wall, gameplay forgotten. His screens were dark. 

“No, you’re sick! All of you- blind and deaf to the real meaning of life!” His eyes looked hungry. “Knowledge! Prosperity! Can’t you see?!”

|I can see how much of an idiot you are.|

Mad tried to jab at him with a screwdriver but Dark simply grabbed Mad’s head and they both flickered red and blue,  Mad screaming as the colours probed themselves into his mind. 

Dark’s eyes looked at him completely black, completely void of anything resembling emotion. Like he was an interesting book. 

_ |Well aren’t we having  _ **_fun?_ ** _ |  _ He chuckled as the man writhed, sound no longer coming out of his mouth as he flickered red and blue. 

“Dark  _ what the fuck _ ?!”

Anti clapped a hand over Jack’s mouth, daring him to say another word. He was, wisely, silent- even as he fought the childish urge to lick his hand. 

_ |I think we both know what will happen next if you aren’t careful. I will kill you, you will die, and the world will be a lot better off. I’m not kind. I’m not soft.  _ **_I’m not going to be merciful as your screams die slowly._ ** _ |  _ He hissed into the man’s ear as he whimpered.

Anti was actually impressed. A truly impressive monologue right there. 

_ |You tried to hurt multiple people under my protection. You have nearly succeeded with one, and if that number becomes solid in any way, shape, or form  _ **_you will not like what happens to you._ ** _ Capiche?| _

Mad’s eyes just rolled into his head and he slumped to the ground. Dark sighed, adjusting his suit cuffs and brushing invisible dust off of the collar. 

|Hate it when they do that. So… unprofessional.|

“I̷ ̷t̶h̷i̸n̶k̸ ̵y̶o̴u̵ ̷a̸c̶t̴u̴a̶l̶l̸y̵ ̵d̵r̷o̶v̴e̵ ̷h̵i̸m̴ ̷m̴a̸d̶.̴” Anti said lightly, his voice almost gleeful. 

Dark peered at the man then shook his head. |No. He’s been gone for a long time. I just put things back into place.|

“J̵e̴s̵u̵s̶.̶” That was going to hurt in the morning.

They heard a soft noise and turned towards Mare, who was sitting in the ground, holding Phantom’s head in his lap. The purple streaks on his face glowed faintly. To their surprise Mare was humming- a broken, sad yet familiar melody. Even as his arms started to seize up he kept humming on, not caring that he was humming himself still. His vision blackened and rippled at the edges. 

“Mare-”

He just hummed louder, drowning him out and holding Phantom closer.  _ His vision darkened for another second and he came back, head fuzzy like he was dreaming. _

_ Don’t die you fucking idiot.  _

Phantom took in a shuddering breath of surprise.  _ No- Mare you’re going to hurt yourself- _

_ Just fucking get better you idiot. I don’t want to… _

_ Lose me? Aww, you do care! Can you get this stupid knife out of my chest now? It’s surprisingly painful. _

Mare grabbed the hilt and pulled immediately, surprising the heck out of everyone else. 

|Woah woah woah!|

“I thought it was better to leave it in?”

“I̶t̷’̵s̶ ̶d̵e̸f̶i̴n̶i̸t̷e̷l̸y̸ ̴b̷e̸t̶t̵e̷r̵ ̵t̵o̸ ̷l̸e̴a̵v̸e̶ ̷i̴t̸ ̸i̶n̶!̴ ̵W̸h̴a̷t̷ ̷t̵h̵e̷ ̶f̷u̷c̵k̶ ̴a̷r̷e̵ ̴y̸o̸u̸ ̵d̸o̸i̴n̵g̵?̴!̷”̸

Mare ignored them, choosing to use the knife to tear off chunks at the bottom of his t-shirt and attaching them together to wrap around Phantom’s chest, using the man’s tie to hold it in place. 

Phantom let out a bit of a breath.  _ Thanks Mare. _

_ You haven’t used the Link in forever you idiot. Use it more. _

_ Aw, gee, sorry I’m so inconvenient for you. _

_ Shut it. _

Their thoughts both focused on the same thing as Mare felt the sting in his own chest lessen slightly. If he felt it...

_ Wire! _

Mare stood up. “Get us home  **now.** ” He picked up Phantom with ease, feeding off of the fear still lingering in the room. 

“L̵i̶s̵t̴e̴n̵-̶”

|Now wait a second-|

“ **Wire has to be freaking out right now so for both of us I say Get. Us. Home. NOW!”** He could give less of a crap if he seemed out of character he was worried damn it.

Anti rested a hand on his shoulder and Phantom managed to grab his staff from where it had fallen, curling it up to him in a wreath of smoke. 

“Save your energy you dipshit.” Mare muttered.

“You couldn’t just expect me to leave it, could you?” Phantom muttered back, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “That wouldn’t be very smart of me.” He ended up in a fit of coughing. 

_ Okay, Link only you dumbass. Let’s get home to Wire and I swear when you heal I’m going to kill you. _

Their vision dissolved into pixels. 

_ Oh, great, something to look forward to. _

Mare appeared in the middle of a crowd of people and radiating sheer fear, causing them to disperse instantly. 

_ Still got it Mare. _

_ Oh shut it. I’m helping you, you don’t need to be snarky. _

Wire was at their side in an instant, holding open the door. “What happened?” They walked down towards the guest rooms. 

“Got. Stabbed.” Phantom coughed. 

“What the fuck did I tell you?”

“To use the Link.” He gave a smirk.

“And did you fucking listen? No. Stop talking. He should be fine Wire- he just needs rest.”

Wire looked worried. “Are you sure? It seemed pretty bad…”

“He’ll be fine.”  _ At least he hoped so.  _ “He can rest here for the night then we can move him to the studio.”

“I’m right here-”

“No, I’m here and you’re going to get better if it kills me.” He couldn’t stop the words, and neither did he want to. 

They both looked at him. “Mare-”

“Oh don’t make it sappy. I don’t have the patience for that. Do you mind getting some bandages from Schneep Wire? You know what will work best.”

Wire looked at Phantom and nodded before rushing away. Mare put him on the bed carefully, looking at the makeshift bandage. “Hey, it matches your aesthetic.”

He spluttered a laugh. “Good to know.”

“The other one won’t, but I need to get this off. Can you press onto the wound as hard as possible while I do that? Wire should be back by then.”

“Jeeze, didn’t know you were a doctor.” Phantom joked as Mare casually ripped off everything put what Phantom was pressing to his chest. 

“You pick up a lot of stuff when you have to learn how to keep dreams realistic. Sit still and breathe you dumbass. I’m sure it’s quite painful.”

Wire came into the room holding bandages. He quickly got Phantom situated. 

“Do you want me to run home and grab you a new shirt and tie and stuff?”

Phantom gave him a bit of a smile. “Sure. Thanks Wire.”

They were all exhausted, so it wasn’t too surprising that they weren’t acting like themselves. 

“Hey Mare?”

“Hmm?” He was looking at the smoke inside of Phantom’s cane. 

“This feels like a dream.”

He picked up Phantom’s cane, looking at the smoke twirling rhythmically. “It is.” The smoke would never twist rhythmically, and the brain couldn’t come up with something that random.

“Oh. What happened?”

“I have no idea. I suppose I should get back, shouldn’t I?”

“I’m sure the real Me would appreciate it. Your dreams are very emotional.”

He tossed him the cane. “Yeah, well, I try. Let’s hope you don’t die, shall we?”

_ He slapped himself across the face with all of his strength and came to with a jolt, feeling the dead-weight of Phantom in his arms…  _ damn that stupid song...

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck...” He tore off the bottom of his shirt and took off Phantom’s tie. How long had he been out? He did exactly what his dream had prepared him for, including taking out the knife. Unfortunately, this time Phantom’s face was paper-white instead of just really freaking pale, causing him to move faster. “Wake up you idiot!”

“Mare! What are you-?!”

He just kept muttering under his breath, doing everything he could. The flow of blood had slowed… he was warm, he was fine…

“FUCK! What am I doing wrong?!”

Phantom was still lying limp. He even grabbed the cane to see if having the item closer would help the healing process. The tracks on his face glowed as he started to actually freak out. If one of them died what would happen to the others? What about Wire? 

“ **WAKE UP!** ” He screamed in frustration, the shadows in the room flickering purple and curling closer. 

|Mare.|

He flinched as a hand came to rest on his shoulder. |We should get home.|

He just cradled Phantom as he was teleported back. He knew he was exposed… he just didn’t seem to have the energy to care. His eyes were black pits with tiny pinpricks of light, the tracks on his face luminescent as he stood, holding Phantom, a shadow casting across his face except for the purple lights cutting it into pieces. 

He marched straight up to Schneep and Dr. Iplier, both of whom were talking in the corner holding red Solo cups. “ **Fix him** .” He held the man close to his chest, feeling the faintest bit of blood seep through his shirt. The two Doctors immediately tossed away the cups and led him towards the lab down in the basement. 

Phantom twitched ever so slightly as he was jarred. Mare felt a strong surge of protectiveness…

He blinked, stopping in place. Where the heck had Phantom gone-

Oh fuck. 

Oh shit. 

The two doctors looked at him and they both gave small smiles. “Surprising, isn’t it?”

“Ve shall not have any dying tonight!”

Mare instinctively felt for his chest. Nothing. Not a scratch, not a tender spot. He blinked again, looking at his new outfit. Purple button down and black vest? If he wasn’t stealing Phantom’s style he’d wear this all of the time. Was he taller? Holy crap he was taller this was a dream come true-

A wheezing cough took him out of his reverie. Oh right, yes, Phantom had been injured. Seemed there was some small side-effects. 

He followed the Doctors to the lab. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summary: 
> 
> 1) Mad stabs Phantom before anyone can stop him.   
> 2) While Dark does some crazy mind stuff on Mad to forcefully make his mind intact, Mare ends up knocking himself out with a rendition of the Puppet's Music Box (because it's Phantom's favourite) and dreams about Phantom getting better. It doesn't quite pan out so well in the real world. (You really are supposed to leave a knife in so he doesn't bleed out you idiot)   
> 3) They teleport back to Ego Inc. and Mare threatens the doctors to fix Phantom. While they head down they accidentally fuse on instinct because Phantom really isn't in the best shape and fusion helps the recovery from injuries and illness. They go to the Lab. 
> 
> End of Chapter.
> 
> \------
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed it! I'm pleased with how this turned out, and thank you for reading! Have a great day!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS:   
> Traumatic Backstory. No, like seriously. People died. I'm not sure if there is a way to summarize this, so I figured the best I could do was warn.   
> General Emotional Agony. yep- this is that kind of chapter. Sorry 'bout that, but it needed to happen.

JJ still hadn’t woken up, even after Phantom was brought back. Host tried to figure out why but couldn’t find anything. Wire was pacing, unable to do anything. 

“Host has no idea what could have caused this. Jameson Jackson seems to be in some sort of coma.”

|Okay. We can deal with this. Let’s move him to Medbay where we can keep an eye on him and Phantom.|

Anti picked him up and teleported away in a flash of pixels. 

The room was empty except for a familiar-looking man sitting in a chair- 

“M̷a̶r̸e̸?̴”

Mare looked up and waved. “Hey. What happened to him?” He gestured to JJ.

“I̴ ̵d̴o̴n̷’̶t̴ ̴k̷n̸o̵w̷-̶ ̴I̷ ̷g̴u̷e̶s̶s̶ ̴h̵e̸ ̶w̴a̴s̶ ̸t̷r̵y̷i̴n̸g̴ ̴t̵o̸ ̸t̸a̴p̴ ̷i̷n̶t̴o̵ ̸P̸h̷a̵n̵t̴o̶m̶’̵s̵ ̷m̶i̶n̸d̷ ̷t̵o̸ ̷f̵i̷n̷d̵ ̵o̸u̴t̷ ̶w̶h̷a̷t̷ ̵w̵a̸s̶ ̷g̴o̶i̵n̷g̴ ̴o̸n̵ ̸w̶h̵e̷n̸ ̷a̸l̸l̷ ̴o̷f̴ ̶t̴h̵i̷s̷ ̴h̸a̷p̸p̸e̴n̷e̸d̶.̵ ̷H̵e̸ ̸i̵s̷n̵’̶t̸ ̵w̴a̵k̶i̴n̷g̵ ̸u̴p̶.” He put him on one of the beds and sat in the other chair. “Y̷o̷u̶ ̸g̷o̷o̴d̷?̴”

“Dealing I suppose. Sorry for the whole… you know, freakout earlier. Wouldn’t want to ruin my reputation.” He gave a small grin and Anti saw just how tired he was. 

“̸O̵h̸ ̷s̴h̷u̴t̴ ̶y̷o̸u̵r̴ ̶m̴o̴u̷t̴h̴.̶ ̸S̶l̷e̸e̴p̴ ̸y̸o̵u̷ ̴i̴d̴i̷o̴t̴.̷”̷

Mare looked at him in surprise. “But what if we unfuse or something? I don’t want to hurt him-”

“I̷f̵ ̵t̶h̵a̵t̴ ̴h̵a̷p̶p̶e̸n̶s̵ ̴I̶’̴l̴l̵ ̴g̸e̷t̵ ̶i̸t̶ ̸t̴a̶k̸e̴n̶ ̵c̴a̴r̶e̸ ̵o̶f̶. ̵S̸l̶e̶e̶p̷.̷ ̶D̶o̷ ̶y̵o̸u̸ ̷w̴a̶n̷t̴ ̸m̶e̶ ̷t̶o̴ ̸g̶e̷t̷ ̴t̶h̵e̸ ̴m̵u̵s̴i̴c̴ ̶b̵o̷x̴?̸” Mare shuddered. 

“Nope. No music. I’ll sleep.” He curled up in the chair and rested his head against the arm. “Hey Anti?”

“H̸m̴m̶?̶” 

“Thanks.” He was out like a light. 

Anti looked over at JJ. Nothing. 

_ If only he could have gotten into my head then he wouldn’t have been like this… _

Woah, woah. No guilt. There was literally no reason why he should be guilty. Well, Phantom had been stabbed by one of his knives, but that wasn’t his fault. It was Mad’s. 

Speaking of Mad, what had Dark meant when he said he’d ‘put the pieces back in place’?

He had no idea. 

 

\--------

 

Mad woke up in an unfamiliar room. It was dark, yet he could see everything as if it was outlined in white? Weird. What sort of science-

He looked around, trying to get his bearings. He was wearing unfamiliar clothes…. Okay, a lab coat and goggles. That was normal enough. He’d never worn a lab coat in his life, but they weren’t too hard to figure out. Where was his apartment? He had to help Mat with video ideas and research for Doctor Who Part 3-

|Hello Madpat.|

He turned around. “Dark? You look different. Where am I? What is going on?”

Last time he’d seen Dark he’d had red hair and looked a lot less… polished. Nice suit.

|I fixed your mind.| He tilted his head. |My apologies.  _ We _ fixed your mind. What do you remember?|

“Uh- I was doing research for an episode and had an idea- what happened? Did it not work? How long have I been out? Mat’s gonna kill me- I was supposed to get him the research for Part 3 by Thursday-”

|You’ve been completely insane for oh, a little over two years now?|

“ _ What?! _ What happened- how did-”

|I have no idea. Maybe I can help you answer that question.| His eyes flared red.

Mad pressed his hands to his head, stumbling backwards as his nerves flared in pain. “Gah!”

Dark chuckled lowly. |Oh don’t worry- I fixed you. You aren’t going to hurt anybody any longer.|

“What did you do to me?!”

|Put the pieces back in place.|

“What the heck does that mean?!” He clutched his head, yellow spots appearing in his vision.

|Interesting. I wouldn’t have thought this would induce amnesia… honestly I’m not too surprised. Your brain has been shattered for years.|

“What-” Images flew into his head and he fell to his knees. So much blood… 

|Ah. I see you’ve remembered. What did you see?|

His breath hitched. “No-no no no no no!” So many bodies...

|What did you see?|

“Steph- no-” He hadn’t realized he’d been crying until the tears dripped down his arms as he sobbed into his hands. “Make it stop-”

He’d gone through with it. What was he thinking?! That went against every moral principle he had! 

|Madpat-|

“NO!” He saw fleeting images- disfigured, wrapped in bandages, flashes of equipment- “MAKE IT STOP! PLEASE!” His voice broke on the last word. How could he have-

|Let him go.|

The images didn’t stop. He saw friends, other characters pleading- he caught a glimpse of Diet Coke running off of a wooden table and a white glove holding a knife to his neck-

|ENOUGH!|

The images ceased. He shook on the ground. How-

|Mad.|

He cringed. “No, please, I won’t-”

|Mad!|

His arms trembled he muttered. “...please say I didn’t do it-”

|Mad!|

He looked up, shaking. Dark was bending over him, looking worried. |I’m sorry. We didn’t know.| His voice’s layers had split apart, overlapping with the same phrase. 

Mad just lay curled up on the ground. “If you didn’t know… then why’d you do it?”

|Because you tried to kill somebody under my protection.| He flinched. _ Kill- _

“I- I’m sorry.” He curled into himself more, hands over his ears to block out the echoing in his head. “I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I-”

Dark put a hand on his arm, lowering it from his ears. |It’s going to be a learning curve.You haven’t been yourself for years.|

“It’s all my fault, I-”

|You did nothing wrong.| Dark knew that was the wrong thing as soon as he said it. 

“Did nothing WRONG?! I did everything wrong! I killed my girlfriend in an experiment, killed my friends, tortured innocent people, messed everything up- I fucking stole a child! How could I have done that?!” He was hysterical. 

|Yes, but you know what you did was wrong-|

“That doesn’t make it right! Repenting doesn’t bring back people, make people better, leave them unscarred! I’m still a…” He trailed off. 

|A what?|

“...monster. I’m still a monster. A scientist who dove off of what was right and into what was wrong, oh god I’m so sorry…”

Dark didn’t know what to say. Mad kept picking apart his attempts at comfort. |I did what I could.|

“And I’m not sure whether to thank you or punch you in the face.” Mad laughed a little, hugging his knees. 

There was a knock at his door. Mad jumped at the sound, but Dark simply walked over to open it. |Yes?| Marvin stood there. 

“Both Phantom and JJ are awake. They’re asking for you.” He looked over Dark’s shoulder and saw Mad, looking up at him with a blotchy face from crying. “Is that-”

|I’ll be over shortly. Thank you Marvin.| He closed the door, leaving his question unanswered. 

“Why didn’t you answer his question?”

Dark turned towards him. |He probably would have killed you. I wouldn’t want my hard work to go to waste. I’ll leave you here so I can go see them, but I’ll be back-|

“I- I don’t care if you leave me with Anti of all people just don’t-”  _ Don’t leave me alone. _

Dark sighed, and rubbed a hand across his face. |I’m trying to think of people who won’t try to kill you at the sight of your face. King maybe? Chase is too protective… ah. I know- Marvin.|

“Marvin? Who is-” An image flickered across his mind. A masked Ego- “No. You don’t- he wouldn’t-” He’d attack him without any hesitation. _ There was a reason he wore a mask.  _ He didn’t want to remember...

|Who didn’t you experiment on?| He sighed. |Maybe Host? I don’t think he has any biases against you, and I don’t think you ran into him...| 

“Host? I-” A tan jacketed man came into his mind, bandages around his face. “I don’t think- I don’t know.” He couldn’t remember- god, that was horrifying. “I don’t know. He had the bandages before I knew him. I don’t- he’ll know what I’ve-”

|We don’t have another choice. I’ll take you over, well- unless you want to stay-|

“I’ll go.” He stood up and Dark gripped his shoulder. They disappeared and reappeared in the library. 

|Host?|

The man turned around. “The Host recognizes Madpat. Darkiplier was wise not to give him to Marvin or Chase. Host will look after him.”

|Thank you Host.|

Host nodded and motioned for Mad to sit down. “Madpat sits in the offered chair as Host tells him about his rules in the library.” He sat. “Host asks him not to touch the artifacts, as it is Host’s job to maintain them. He can read any books in the bookcases on the right unless they are in a glass case or locked, or can go on the computers over there if one is desperate for bad internet.”

“Why is the internet bad?”

“Close proximity to magic-based artifacts. Red or Yellow Google would be happy to answer any questions about it. Is that all Madpat requires?” 

“Unless you have a clean t-shirt I’m good. Thank you Host.”

“The Host is welcome. One more rule- do not touch any of the masks on the walls. Thank you.” Host turned around and went back to oiling the cover of a familiar looking leather book. 

Madpat decided to wander the bookshelves until Dark was done. He heard a knock. He looked over as Host called for ‘Mr. Sanders’ to come in. Logic entered holding a stack of books. His mind fed him a picture of a face half-covered in scales. Oh flip. He’d experimented on a Sanders.  _ Was he an idiot?!  _

He ducked down before Logic could notice him. He grabbed a book at random and held it over his face while he strained to hear. 

“Mr. Sanders came in to return his books. He decided to not check out any books for today, seeing as he’d forgotten  The Murder of Roger Akroyd at the Sanders’s residence to read once more. Would Logan appreciate it if Host just gave him the book? Seeing Logan constant renewal of said book, Logan must like it quite a bit.” Oh, he had a name now? Interesting.

“Oh, thank you Host. That is rather kind of you. I was wondering if you had any poetry? I heard that Virgil rather liked it, and was wondering if you had any.” Virgil? Who the heck was Virgil? He remembered Logic had been called Logan… did they all have names now? Who could that be...

“The Host confirms this statement. You will find the poetry section third row on the right.”

“Thank you Host.” 

Logic walked in his direction. Shit. Mad backed away, book still held over his face. He smacked into the opposite shelf, a book falling out and landing on his head. Ow. He grunted in pain. That one had been a thesaurus...

Logic looked over at the sound. Mad involuntarily let out a small squeak. 

“ _ Mad?! _ ”

Host just sighed and kept mumbling. He seemed disappointed. Logic- no, Logan- turned around. “You knew about him?!” Host paused.

“The Host shall neither confirm nor deny that statement. Madpat is… different.”

“Different? Different how?!” Mad swallowed. Logic sounded annoyed. 

“Madpat does not remember the last two years other than brief images.”

Logic turned to him as if testing to see whether he was telling the truth. “You have amnesia? Anterograde specifically?” 

Mad nodded hesitantly. Logic touched the bridge of his nose with his fingers as if annoyed. 

“Okay. Okay. Logan, you can handle this. What is the last thing you can remember?”

He answered confidently. “I was working on research for Doctor Who Part 3.”

“Year? Month?”

“September… fifth? 2015.”

“Yeah, that’s definitely… wow. You don’t know anything do you?” Mad opened his mouth. “Don’t give me that look. I implied of recent events.” He closed it. 

“That would be a no.”

“You don’t even know the success of their channel- GT Live is a recent addition to you isn’t it?” He shrugged. 

“I think he’d done one or two streams, why?”

“It’s now a third branch. Film and Game theory exploded in popularity- and he still hasn’t posted Part 3.”

Mad’s jaw dropped. He stood up. “Has anything happened to my apartment?” He had to give him those notes even if they weren’t finished...

Logic shrugged. “I don’t think any of us touched it.” 

“Host? If Dark returns can you tell him I went to find it?”

Logic blinked. “You cannot tell me that you are considering going into unfamiliar territory alone-”

“Then I’d be lying.” He walked over to the balcony, looking through his pockets for the key habitually. He was pleasantly surprised when he found it in his lab coat. He must have been using it at least. That meant it probably hadn’t moved. 

“The Host shall relay the message to Darkiplier.”

Logic sighed. “You can’t just go out alone- what if something happens?”

“I’ll be fine.” He hoped so anyway. 

“There is still a chance-” Mad turned towards him, speaking as clearly as possible. 

“Logic. The chances of anyone even wanting to come close to me are small at best based on my… past actions. I’ll be fine. Just… let me go.”

“You speak as if I am imprisoning you. That was not my intention-”

“I know.”

Mad walked out of the room and towards where he remembered his apartment to be, lab coat flapping around him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy...
> 
> Sorry if that was hard to read for any of you. I really needed to give Mad a backstory, so... yeah. Sorry for anyone who wanted to see Steph in this. (Poor Mad...)
> 
> Here's a really good song to cheer you guys up if you need it? I don't know, I just thought it was good and it's all about how one should keep going, so... yeah.   
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HxKhbYpkyE
> 
> Mad's going to pop up quite a bit in the next, oh, five or so chapters? Lots of stuff from his view and him coming to terms with what he missed and who he is now. I'm determined to not give him a redemption arc, so I hope that works out. 
> 
> (I'll give you a hint. I was listening to this while writing the next little bit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5B9RWJor4c )
> 
> Long summary aside, I hope you enjoyed! I'll see you all next chapter update! Thank you for reading, and have a great day! Feel free to check out my other works by clicking on my name at the beginning of the chapter or whatever if you're looking for stuff to read and subscribe for automatic updates! (I dunno- I just didn't know those buttons existed until recently and I'm trying to spread the news to any other newbies out there.) Have a good one!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while, huh? Sorry about that. Time may be a construct but it's a construct that has certainly gotten away from me lately. Sorry about that cliffhanger. There will probably be plenty more to come.

Mare opened his eyes. He stretched- and almost hit Phantom in the face. Aw crap they’d unfused. He looked around. Anti was gone. That piece of shit-

“Mare?” Phantom moved to sit up. Mare was over there in a flash. 

“If you move I will kill you.” He lifted him into a sitting position and leaned against the wall. There was a groan from the bed in the corner. 

_ *What the- my head…* _

Anti ran into the room, closely followed by Marvin, and Schneep. Wire must still be freaking out majorly if someone didn’t allow him in. Or maybe he was just busy?

“Ah! Ve are awake!”

“D̸o̴n̵’̴t̵ ̴d̴o̸ ̷t̵h̷a̵t̵ ̷a̵g̷a̸i̴n̶!̷”

_ *Hey Marv? Could you go get Dark?* _

Phantom just grabbed his cane out of thin air and disappeared, leaving the cane to fall to the floor. 

Mare walked over and grabbed it, forcing himself in. He appeared in a flash of purple light. “Phantom?”

“I don’t want to talk to you right now.” Phantom was sitting by the large circular window sill, looking out at the outside through the orb of crystal.

“ _ What?! _ Phan-”

Phantom turned to him, annoyed. “Why did you hum that song? You could have died- you know your ability magnifies it-”

“Because it’s your favourite.” Mare said quietly. Phantom’s mouth fell open and he groaned, running his hands through his hair. 

“You are such a sap when you want to be I swear…”

Mare shrugged. “I live to annoy you. How are you doing so I don’t have to strangle you for doing too much?” With that many 180's he might as well be Wilford.

“Not too bad. How did I heal? I woke up on the chair next to where you were sitting…” 

Mare winced. “Uh- we kind of… fused.”

“We did WHAT?!”

“Well it has healing properties and it just sort of happened and-”

“Woah woah woah. Slow down. What happened?”

“I-” He swallowed, shoving down the emotions that the memory caused. “I ended up blacking out when I sang the song. When I forced myself awake, you… you were pretty bad. I did what I thought I could do, but you were just not waking up and- I panicked.”

“And then we fused?”

He shook his head. “No- I got you back here and was walking to the Medbay when we did that. It just sort of… happened. I didn’t mean to-” He broke off.

“Mare. It’s fine. You’re feeding off of your own fear again.” 

Mare let out a loud breath. He really needed to stop making himself the best power source. “I’m fine.” he said with a small shake of his head. “Sorry.”  

“It’s not weakness.” Mare snorted, and Phantom amended. “It’s not weakness with me. I just don’t want you to have to depend on yourself for that.”

“You wouldn’t get it. You don’t depend on anything for power.”

Phantom laughed easily. “What do you think I make my deals for? Sure, they’re fun, but it’s the reputation that works wonders. Well, and the cane. Shoot- the cane is what makes the whole thing end up working. The book just piques their interest. Greed does the rest and I benefit.”

“Not what I meant. You don’t really have to depend on anything- you just want to. I…” He trailed off. He was almost about to spill the beans right then and there.

“You what, Mare?” He felt himself get anxious, the trails on his cheeks darkening. 

“I- you know I just scare people. It’s my thing, it’s what people expect. I literally feed off of it.”

“What are you saying?” Phantom had sat up, and was looking at him intently. “Why haven’t you said anything about this before?”

“I didn’t have to worry about it. The fans always had enough fear to keep me from noticing.” He sat in one of the armchairs, grabbing one of the mugs that always sat on the table and stared at it as it refilled with hot cocoa. “Eventually they stopped. I was a one-off to them. I started to...” He shuddered, mind flickering with fear and memories. “Fade.” He clutched the cup, taking a long sip. Phantom’s mouth tightened. 

“An you haven’t told me this why? I could give you the fear from my deals if I can figure out a way to store it.” 

He shook his head. “I just need to be around fear for a bit and I’m fine. I don’t want you to-”

“Wire would say the same. Just… let us help. And for god’s sake don’t rely solely on your own fear unless it’s an emergency.”

Mare let out a chuckle. His eyes brightened from the small influx of power. “Aw, you’re worried.”

Phantom rolled his eyes. “Well duh. We’re a team.” 

Mare smiled. “If we’re such a team, why won’t you come out?” He teased. 

Phantom shuddered. “ _ People. _ ” If that wasn’t the biggest mood in the world. Mare traced the rim of his cup and grinned. 

“I mean, you’re not wrong. Speaking of people, what are they doing?”

Phantom reached over and rested a hand on the curved window. Sound flooded in. 

_ |I’m here. Where’s Phantom?| _

Jameson did his usual mouthing of whatever he was projecting. Phantom’s brows furrowed and he wiggled his fingers, sifting through some of the smoke that curled around the edges of the room. The rest of his sentence filtered in as Phantom connected to the surrounded magic.

_ *-cane.* _

Their view jolted as Dark picked up the cane and peered inside. Phantom jerked slightly and snarled as if he’d been shocked by static electricity. Smoke curled around outside of the window and Dark chuckled, absently waving away the magic when it came nearer to his fingers. 

_ |Oh, he’s definitely in there. What about Mare?| _

Mare had crossed over to the window at that point and narrowed his eyes, placing his hand on the window as well. Purple light snaked out and jabbed the demon’s hand. He immediately dropped the cane, and Phantom disappeared in a whirl of smoke to catch it.

_ “Gee, how polite. Ever thought of asking before grabbing someone’s artifact?”  _ There was the snarky Phantom he knew. He ran his hands over the cane, rubbing away any leftover energy from when Mare had jabbed Dark. “ _ Especially before dropping it.” _

| _ My apologies.| _ Dark looked slightly unsettled as he rubbed where Mare’s power had jabbed at him. 

There was the sound of footsteps. Host walked in calmly.

_ “Host wishes to tell you that Madpat has left the library in search for his apartment.” _

Wait- Madpat? What was he doing-

Dark swore under his breath. | _ That little- fine. I’ll go find him. Mare? _ |

Mare let out a breath sharply and appeared outside of the cane. “What.”

|You’re coming with me. Don’t try to kill him.|

He walked towards the door. Mare turned in his heel and fell into step next to him. “And why not? I have every right to-“

|Because I will be incredibly annoyed if you do.| With that lovely thought, Dark grabbed his forearm and the two disappeared into shadows.

 

Wire crashed through the door. Phantom waved. “Hey.”

“Don’t ever get stabbed again.”

Phantom shrugged. “Can’t promise, but it certainly isn’t fun.”

“If anything isn’t that all the more incentive to not get stabbed?”

“Ugh. Fine."

 

————-

 

Mad was fiddling with the object he’d found in his lab coat. It appeared to be a modified cell phone… 

He pressed a large green button and his surroundings were suddenly replaced by a slightly familiar dining room. He looked up to see a completely shocked version of himself. 

Mad’s eyes widened and he immediately pressed the button again, reappearing in his apartment once more.

Shit.

He glanced in the mirror and straightened his hair. Look as normal as possible. That might help. Maybe. 

He fished out the device again and looked at it, glancing at his notes he’d left so long ago. He shrugged and grabbed them. Might as well be of some use even if he was chased out. 

He pressed the button. 

Mat had disappeared. Probably for the best. Mad simply lay down the notes on the dining table of what he’d discovered so far and scrambled in his pockets for a sticky note. He was sure he’d put some in when he’d cleaned up some of the apartment. Aha. He took the pen from behind his ear and scribbled down a quick note of what the stack contained before slapping it onto the stack and pressing the button once more. 

He reappeared in his apartment. He really needed to do some improvements- a lot of this stuff was outdated… 

He heard a knock at his door. He blinked a few times and went to open it. 

Dark and Mare stood there. A picture tried to work it's way into his mind but he forced it away. Later. He gestured for them to come in. “Water? I think I saw some Diet Coke in the fridge-”

|No, thank you Mad. Can you tell me exactly why you left the library?| His tone was disappointed.

“I figured I had some things to do. Deliver some notes, do some organizing- you know, get off my ass for the first time in two years when I actually knew what I was doing. Do something with my life that was productive. Hey Mare.” Nope, go away image. 

“Mad. So you’re… not crazy?”

“Nope.”

“Remember anything?”

“Only pieces.”

There was the sound of footsteps. Logan jogged up. “Patton is going to be annoyed with you for interrupting his party.” Patton? Which one was that?

“Oh. Sorry.” Mad gave a nervous grin. He really needed to do some research on them to find out what he missed.

“You’re lucky it went relatively back to normal. He’s probably still going to hound you for what you did to Dece-”

Mad caught a glimpse of a scaly face in his mind and he instinctively slammed the door in their faces. What the fuck insane him?! Did he have a fucking death wish?! He ran a hand through his hair and tried to think. He went to the battered laptop he’d found and searched for Patton Sanders. Oh boy. He’d pissed off Morality. But hey, he knew the other’s names now too. Logan, Patton, Virgil, and Roman. And Deceit, who appeared to not have appeared in a video yet. 

Oh boy. Thomas had done even more vines and shorts. They were quite expansive- even if only half of them became actual characters here, which he doubted based on the enthusiasm of the Fanders, he’d be toast if he even tried stepping into their area. It was a wonder Logan hadn’t done anything rash- granted they’d worked well together in the past and he was less prone to emotional outbursts than the others. 

He heard banging on the door. They were teleporters. They could easily let themselves in. So he kept researching. 

Until his door flew off its hinges. 

He spun around in the chair and groaned. “Do you have any idea just how much it costs to replace a door?”

Dark walked in, looking even more annoyed than usual. |You are coming with us.|

“And why is that?”

“Okay yeah, I kind of have to ask the same question. Why the heck would we want him?” Mare looked very confused.

“The two of you did not need to break down the door. People today, I swear…” Logan stepped over the threshold after Mare. 

|Because we need to have a meeting with our hosts and you need to apologize. To literally everyone.|

Logan blinked. “As fair as that may be, he isn’t exactly… trusted enough to not get back up to his old tricks by the majority of the Void, hosts nonwithstanding. And while it would be an interesting idea to introduce him to a few people, it might be a bad idea.”

“Woah, woah, woah. Dark, our next meeting isn’t for a few weeks for Vidcon. Are you moving it up, or what?”

|We have until Vidcon, yes.|

The air supply in the room was replenished twicefold by the sighs of relief. Well, if people expelled oxygen. They were breathing out CO2 so...

“Okay, great. I have until then to convince multiple people not to kill him. Still not happy with you by the way. You did try to light me on fire a la Fazbear Pizzaria a few months ago while wearing a bear suit.”

Mad blinked. Wait- “What-?”

But the two demons had disappeared, and Logan was easing the remains of the door into position behind him as he took his leave. Godammit. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh jeeze. Wow. Uhg, that was a lot in a short space of time. Wow. Why is it normally not like this when I edit? 
> 
> Anyway, thank you for all of the comments! I really do appreciate them.   
> Anyway, I need to go and update the tags for the next few chapters. They're going to be a handful. See ya! Thanks for reading and have a great day!


	11. Going Walking

Those weeks had passed quickly.

Everyone was working at packing their things and telling other people what they were supposed to do. Basically the whole Void was a whirlwind of activity, and nobody even tried to stop it. Why would they? They all had places to be, even the most minor of characters. 

Mad was basically alone. Sure, there was Fatpat and a few other small characters in the Void somewhere, but they usually didn’t like coming to these sorts of things anyway. He hadn’t been in contact with them in ages either, so that would have been very awkward even if they had wanted to come. 

So Mad slung his satchel over his shoulder and watched objects fly around the room as people yelled for their respective items and Anti complained about having to wear shoes. As always, it was going to be quite a trick to get in. They’d send Chase and Wilford over first so they could book the room, and them Wilford would come over to give directions to any of the resident teleporters. Pretty simple, even if it took a while to do. 

Then they’d have to brave the swarms of people, somehow without anybody noticing the more… strange of them, and find their hosts backstage. They’d find time to relax, maybe put on a bit of a show like Anti did that one time, and go home after the con ended. 

This was going to be stressful as hell. Granted, he hadn’t been since the Incident, but there was a lot of lost love. He honestly wasn’t surprised Mat hadn’t remembered him when he’d appeared in his recording closet. It had been years since they'd worked together… 

Huh. It had been years. What else changed in the real world? God that was going to be exhausting. Catching up on everything, doing all of that stuff… 

He checked the pockets of his new lab coat. He’d gotten used to wearing it, and kind of liked the massive pockets and protective surface. Everything was there, including that gadget he still hadn't quite figured out the whole use of.

Wilford and Chase checked to make sure they had all of their stuff and waved at the others before disappearing. They all waited for Wilford to return. Soon enough, he did. 

“This time we have five or six to a room since we are meeting in a hotel instead of our usual party. Dark?”

|Most of the Septics will be in room one. Ipliers, two. The spillover will be in three. Sanders, four. Any other Sanders, five. If you need more room come to me. As for the rest of you, you’ll be put in either room seven or eight, if six is taken. One or two might have to come into three. Questions?|

There was a general shake of heads. 

|Excellent. If we can start with the Septics to join Chase…|

They all started to move. Mad was teleported over by Wilford. He was about to go into seven, but both ‘Rest of you’ rooms were full. Dark ushered him into room three with a nod of his head before walking over to room two. 

Mare (With Phantom in his cane), Anti, Bing, and King Of The Squirrels looked back at him. 

Bing stood. “No! Dark! No, dude! Nah broseph!” Dark appeared. 

|You called?|

“Really Dark? You had to stick- mhm mhm mmnm.” King had covered his hand with his mouth. 

|Thank you King. I’m sure you’ll live. Would you rather be stuck with Google?|

Bing thought. The two of them were currently having an argument. King released his hand. “I guess not. You couldn’t have told us first?” He whined. 

|You will live, Bing. I will leave the group of you to it. Try not to kill each other while I’m gone.|

He disappeared. Bing flopped onto his bed in a huff. Well this was awkward. 

“Anyone mind where I put my stuff?”

Mare shrugged. “Anywhere’s fine as long as it’s not in the way. I can probably sleep in the cane if you want this bed.”

“Cool, thanks.”

Mare turned to the whole room. “Phantom wanted me to tell you that anyone who touches this cane will die a gruesome death. I didn’t want to warn you, but he vetoed me. So here’s your warning.” With that he disappeared, and the cane fell softly to the ground, propping itself against the wall. Mad stared at it. 

“Did he just imply that the cane is basically a TARDIS?”

There were shrugs. Mad clapped his hands together after dumping his stuff in the closet. “Well, now that that setting up is out of the way, I’m going to go wander around and find out who wants to kill me so I can avoid them. Any tips?”

Bing looked up. “If you tell Google I don’t like you he’ll help just to be contrary. Still don’t like you though.”

“Thanks for the not-help then. See you guys later.”

So he grabbed one of the key cards and went to roam the hotel. 

 

\-----------

 

Chase lay on his bed while Marvin and JJ played Uno. He got up and stretched. “I’m bored. Gonna go walk the hotel. Anyone want to come?”

Robbie raised a hand. 

“Cool. Ya grab your hat?”

Robbie nodded, and grabbed his torn baseball cap to hide his face. “Stage blood?”

Chace held his hand in a so-so motion. “Might be a bit too much. You’re a fine zombie on your own, buddy.”

“Vould you like me to join you?” Schneep looked up from his paperwork. 

“If you can get away, sure.”

Schneep stood and grabbed his coat. “Onvards then.”

“Sweet. Have your cards?”

Robbie grabbed one from the nightstand. Schneep did the same. Chase held up his before slipping it into his wallet. “Let’s go then. We’ll be back in a bit, okay? Enjoy your game.”

Marvin and JJ held up thumbs in agreement before going back to their cards. 

“Anti?” Robbie said shyly. 

“Wouldn’t hurt to ask. Easy to ask him to tone down the glitching. You want to go and ask?”

Robbie nodded and knocked on the door as they passed it. Bing opened it. “Heya dudes. What’cha need?”

“Walk. Anti joining?” He was in one of his shyer moods it seemed. 

“Yo Anti!” Bing called behind him. 

“T̸h̴e̵ ̸r̸o̴o̷m̸’̴s̶ ̴n̵o̷t̸ ̵t̵h̵a̵t̵ ̴b̴i̸g̷,̴ ̷y̶o̷u̵ ̴d̷o̵n̴’̸t̶ ̶n̶e̷e̵d̶ ̵t̷o̸ ̵s̵h̴o̵u̸t̸.̴ ̶H̶e̵y̴ ̴R̵o̴b̴b̵i̴e̴.̷ ̶H̷e̴a̴r̵d̴ ̸s̴o̸m̴e̷t̴h̶i̶n̸g̴ ̴a̸b̴o̷u̶t̷ ̵a̸ ̸w̶a̶l̶k̵?̵”

“Join?”

Anti thought for a sec. “E̷h̶,̴ ̶s̶u̷r̸e̷.̸ ̷I̴ ̴c̶a̵n̴ ̷j̵u̴s̵t̴ ̴p̷o̸p̶ ̶b̷a̷c̸k̷ ̷i̵n̷ ̴a̷n̶y̷w̸a̴y̵s̶,̵ ̸s̶o̷ ̵n̷o̵ ̷k̵e̸y̴ ̶n̷e̶e̷d̴e̵d̶.̴ ̵W̸h̴y̸ ̸n̴o̶t̶?̷” He stepped out and closed the door behind him. “H̴e̶y̵ ̴C̸h̴a̵s̶e̴.̶ ̴S̵h̵e̸e̷p̶l̸e̷.̷”

“You know zat it is Schneep Anti.”

“E̶h̵,̷ ̷S̶h̶e̷e̴p̵l̸e̸ ̶i̶s̷ ̵f̷u̴n̶n̷e̴r̷.̵”

“Funner is not a vord.”

“I̴t̸ ̵i̴s̴ ̶n̵o̶w̵.̸ ̵W̵h̷e̶r̸e̷ ̷y̸a̵ ̷w̶a̷l̸k̶i̷n̶?̵”

Chase shrugged. “No clue. Needed to walk. Any ideas?”

“D̴o̷n̶’̷t̵ ̶c̵a̸r̵e̶.̴ ̴J̶u̴s̴t̴ ̷w̸a̷n̴t̵ ̴t̴o̶ ̴h̴a̴n̶g̴ ̵w̸i̴t̴h̴ ̴m̵y̶ ̵f̵a̴v̵o̷u̸r̷i̴t̶e̵ ̴z̷o̸m̸b̸i̴e̷ ̸b̵u̵d̴d̴y̸!̶” He ruffled Robbie’s hair. Robbie let out a huff. 

“Anti!”

“Now guys, relax. Anti, do you mind?”

Anti sighed but limited his glitching. Now he just looked pale as heck with vibrant green hair. Chase silently handed him his scarf. “G̵e̸e̸,̵ ̸t̵h̴a̷n̸k̸s̵.̶ T̸h̸a̸t̵ ̴g̷o̸e̵s̴ ̶w̶o̴n̸d̸e̶r̷f̷u̵l̷l̶y̷ ̴w̵i̷t̸h̷ ̷m̵y̷ ̴t̵-̵s̶h̷i̸r̶t̸.̷” He drawled.

“No prob. Rob, ya want to borrow my jacket? You’ll look more like a cosplayer.” Robbie shrugged and Chase handed him his jacket. He swapped hats with Robbie. “There. I just look like a normal guy, and you look like a fan. Schneep, you good?” Henrik had changed into a pair of jeans and a green sweatshirt that morning. 

“Yes. Are you zure zis is necessary?”

“Better with than without. You want to talk about the plans for tomorrow?”

“Fine. Vake up early-”

“Then go snag a breakfast for those of us who need to eat-”

“T̶h̸e̸n̵ ̶g̷o̶ ̷w̶a̸i̵t̶ ̵i̵n̸ ̴l̸i̸n̴e̴s̶ ̴e̶v̷e̵n̷ ̶t̴h̴o̴u̴g̴h̶ ̴w̵e̷ ̸c̸a̴n̴ ̵b̵y̸p̴a̶s̴s̵ ̴t̸h̸e̷m̶-̶”

“Vait, vy are ve vaiting? Ve didn’t last year.”

“L̸a̴s̴t̶ ̵y̴e̶a̷r̸ ̷W̸i̷l̷f̸o̶r̶d̴ ̷a̸l̴m̸o̴s̷t̵ ̴g̷o̵t̶ ̷k̵i̸c̸k̷e̴d̴ ̸o̵u̷t̸,̷ ̶r̵e̸m̶e̸m̸b̴e̶r̴?̵”

“Yep. So waiting, then finding our hosts where we agreed to meet- Jack said something about Mat and Steph actually being able to meet up this time?” They hadn’t been able to get in contact for months since their hosts found out about them. Jack and Mark had been the most active for sure.

“I think so. So we can meet up-”

“E̵v̴e̵r̸y̷o̵n̷e̶ ̸m̸a̸d̸e̴ ̶i̸t̵.̶ ̷D̶a̸m̵n̷.̶”

“Anti, language check.” 

Anti laughed. “Y̷o̷u̷’̴r̴e̵ ̸a̷ ̶b̷i̶t̵ ̴o̵f̵ ̶a̶ ̵h̶y̷p̵o̸c̸r̶i̴t̴e̸.̶ ̴E̸v̸e̸r̶y̶o̷n̶e̵ ̵m̵a̸d̴e̸ ̷i̶t̸,̴ ̶f̷u̸c̸k̸i̸n̷g̴ ̶s̴h̵i̴t̵-̶b̶a̷l̸l̵s̸.̶ ̷I̴t̵’̵s̵ ̷i̵m̵p̷r̴e̵s̷s̵i̶v̵e̸ ̵t̶o̶ ̸s̸a̷y̷ ̶t̷h̴e̸ ̶l̵e̷a̷s̵t̷.̸ ̵A̷n̶d̷ ̴a̷ ̶d̵a̷m̸n̴ ̶b̵i̶t̸ ̶c̶o̸n̶v̶e̸n̵i̴e̶n̸t̵.̸ ̷W̸e̵ ̴d̷o̶n̵’̵t̴ ̶h̷a̴v̸e̸ ̶t̶o̴ ̶h̸a̶v̴e̷ ̷t̶w̷o̶.̸ ̴T̶h̵a̷t̷’̶s̸ ̸n̴i̶c̶e̷ ̸I̷ ̵g̷u̵e̶s̵s̸.̶”̸

Chase sighed but pressed onwards. “Yep. But hey, I’m not going to argue with luck. Hey, is that-?”

“H̷e̴y̸ ̵M̴a̷d̴.̴”

Mad turned around. “Oh, hey, you guys are walking too. It’s nice here, isn’t it?” Chase blinked in confusion. Mad noticed and took one giant step away. “He knows, right?” 

“S̷h̷i̴t̵, ̶I̶ ̸d̵u̴n̸n̸o̷-̸ ̵C̵h̷a̸s̸e̶,̴ ̸w̷a̸i̷t̵-”

And Anti had to hold back a struggling Chase. 

“Anti, lemmie go!” 

Robbie looked between the two in confusion. “Chase? What are you doing?”

Mad was taking more steps back. “Chase, Chase, relax. I’m not going to-”

“Anti, let me go!”

“What’s going on here?” A familiar voice asked. They all turned to see a very confused Patton. 

“N̷o̸t̴h̷i̷n̷g̶!̸”

Patton frowned. “This doesn’t look like nothing. Say, Mad, friendo, do you mind coming with me? I wanted to have a little  _ chat.”  _ Oh shit. That sounded like the chat would end up being a shouting match. 

“Uh-”

“Perfect! You agree! Why don’t you gentlemen talk this out while I talk to Mad? Two birds with one stone!  _ Shale _ we?” Before Mad could say anything he was dragged to the side. 

Chase stopped struggling. “How- how are you okay with him?! He certainly wasn’t kind to you-”

“C̸h̶a̶s̶e̸.̴ ̴R̸e̷l̷a̷x̶.̸ ̶I̷’̴m̵ ̵n̵o̸t̸ ̷h̸a̷p̷p̵y̸ ̸a̴b̶o̵u̶t̷ ̶i̵t̶,̵ ̵b̴u̴t̶ ̷h̵e̴’̴s̶ ̷c̶h̵a̶n̵g̷e̶d̷.̷ ̸Y̷o̷u̵ ̴r̵e̶m̵e̶m̴b̷e̶r̷ ̸M̷a̷d̸ ̴f̴r̵o̸m̶ ̸w̶h̸e̵n̴ ̸y̵o̶u̵ ̸f̴i̸r̵s̷t̵ ̸a̸p̸p̷e̴a̶r̶e̵d̴?̵ ̶T̵h̸e̵ ̶o̴n̷e̶ ̶w̴h̵o̷ ̴c̶o̸n̷s̴t̷a̴n̶t̸l̶y̸ ̴r̶e̵s̸e̸a̴r̴c̶h̴e̴d̸ ̶a̴n̷d̵ ̷h̷e̵l̶p̴e̴d̷ ̷M̷a̴t̴ ̷w̶i̷t̸h̴ ̸h̵i̸s̸ ̴v̸i̵d̸e̸o̶s̶ ̷a̷n̴d̴ ̸w̶a̴s̴ ̷o̶v̶e̶r̴a̶l̴l̶ ̶j̷u̸s̷t̶ ̵a̵ ̸m̵a̶s̶s̴i̷v̵e̶ ̸g̸e̵e̷k̸ ̸b̷u̷t̷ ̵b̵a̷s̷i̶c̸a̷l̶l̶y̶ ̶s̷t̶a̶y̶e̷d̷ ̴o̵u̴t̶ ̷o̶f̴ ̴t̸h̵e̸ ̶w̵a̴y̷?̴” 

Chase screwed up his face in thought but nodded. He did remember him, if but a little. It had only been a few months after he’d appeared after all. 

“W̶e̶l̴l̵ ̶t̶h̷a̸t̸’̶s̴ ̵t̴h̷e̷ ̸M̶a̸d̸ ̴o̵v̴e̸r̵ ̸t̶h̸e̴r̴e̸.̸ ̵H̴e̶ ̴w̴e̷n̵t̶ ̶i̵n̶s̶a̶n̷e̵ ̶f̵o̷r̴ ̷a̶ ̴w̶h̸i̸l̵e̸ ̴b̷e̵c̴a̶u̷s̷e̶ ̷o̵f̵ ̶s̸o̷m̶e̴ ̸e̵x̷p̵e̴r̵i̶m̴e̷n̶t̶ ̷t̶h̴i̶n̴g̸. ̸I̸ ̸d̵u̸n̴n̵o̶ ̷w̷h̷a̸t̷, ̶b̵u̷t̸ ̶D̷a̵r̵k̴ ̵s̸o̷m̶e̷h̵o̵w̴ ̸f̶i̵x̵e̶d̴ ̵h̷i̶m̶ ̴w̶h̷e̷n̷ ̶h̸e̸ ̸t̷r̷i̸e̷d̵ ̸t̵o̸ ̷a̸t̴t̷a̸c̶k̸ ̴J̸a̷c̶k̷.̷ ̵H̶e̶’̷d̴ ̶n̸o̸t̶ ̷u̴n̸h̷i̵n̸g̷e̸d̴ ̸a̴n̷y̵m̵o̵r̵e̵.̴ ̷H̷e̶ ̸b̷a̶r̴e̶l̶y̸ ̴r̶e̵m̵e̵m̸b̶e̶r̶s̷ ̶a̸n̸y̷t̷h̷i̸n̵g̶.̴ ̷Y̶o̵u̵ ̵u̴n̸d̷e̵r̶s̵t̴a̵n̷d̵?̷”

Chase nodded then frowned. “If you’re expecting me to forgive him just like that it’s not going to happen.”

Anti sighed. “F̷i̸n̸e̷!̶ ̶F̸i̶n̵e̴.̴ ̶J̶u̴s̴t̶…̶ ̵d̸o̷ ̶y̵o̶u̶r̷ ̵n̸o̶r̵m̸a̶l̵ ̶C̸h̴a̴s̸e̴ ̴t̴h̵i̵n̸g̴ ̸a̴n̴d̷ ̴t̶r̴y̷ ̶t̸o̵ ̵u̷n̶d̷e̶r̴s̸t̵a̷n̷d̶.̸ ̷G̷o̵t̵c̸h̸a̷?̷”

“Fine.”

"̴G̵o̵o̸d̴."̵

“Good.”

The four of them were silent, watching Patton chew out Mad down the hall. 

“Y̸o̸u̸ ̷t̷h̷i̶n̴k̸ ̶w̴e̸ ̴n̶e̸e̷d̵ ̵t̸o̴ ̵s̵a̷v̷e̶ ̴h̴i̸m̷?̸”

Chase looked at Patton’s body language. Tense. Closest to angry that Chase has ever seen him. But he knew it was justified. 

“I dunno. Maybe…” He trailed off. He caught sight of a figure far down the hall. Was that-? It was! “Hey Mark!” He ran past Robbie and grabbed his hat so Mark could distinguish him from Jack.

Mark looked up. “Chase? What are you guys-” He groaned. “You guys just had to check into the same hotel I did?!”

“What are the odds! Yeah- a lot of us are here! Most of the Sanders, your Egos, the Spediceys, you know, the main group! We have a couple of stragglers like Blank and Phantom and Grizzly, but overall it’s just us! Maybe… thirty? Thirty-five?”

“ _ Thirty-five?! _ ”

“Yep!”

Mark facepalmed. “Jesus. Okay- I’ve been talking with Dark and we’ve got the plan hammered out, but what about the people who’s hosts aren’t here? I think a few of them can’t make it.”

“They either came to enjoy the convention in disguise or didn’t want to around this many people. Relax Mark. Ya wanna come and relax and do some Uno?”

“Sorry but I have to vlog and all, you know how it is. I might come by after dinner if I have time, but if not I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Sure, yeah! See ya then. If you see Jack say hi for me, will you?”

Mark looked around. “I think he said he was checking in- oh my god. Jack, you have got to be kidding me.”

Jack came running up, giving Chase a one-armed hug. “Are we all on this floor? That’s great!”

“For you maybe! You’re friends with most of yours! I’m only a creator to most of mine and-”

Mad booked it past them. “Sorry!” He called back, Patton running after him. 

“Get back here!”

They all stopped and stared as they ran down the hall. “You’re seeing what I’m seeing? I’m not finally going crazy?” Jack eventually said.

“Patton chasing Madpat down a hotel hall screaming for Mad to say that he’s sorry? Nope, I think we’ve all gone crazy.”

“A̵c̸t̷u̷a̷l̶l̴y̴ ̴M̵a̸d̷ ̵w̷a̸s̴ ̷s̷c̵r̷e̷a̴m̸i̶n̸g̴ ̴t̵h̴a̸t̶ ̶h̷e̷ ̶w̸a̵s̷ ̴s̸o̵r̵r̸y̷ ̶w̴h̷i̸l̴e̶ ̸P̸a̸t̴t̷o̸n̶ ̸c̸h̸a̵s̶e̷d̴ ̵h̶i̶m̷ ̵s̸o̶ ̵h̶e̷ ̵c̸o̵u̸l̶d̵ ̷g̵i̷v̶e̶ ̵h̷i̵m̶ ̵a̵ ̶h̵u̵g̷.̵”

They all jumped. Chase put a hand on his chest. “Jesus Anti, you’re going to give me a heart attack!”

Anti shrugged. “I̸t̵’̷s̴ ̴m̷y̷ ̵j̴o̸b̵.̷ ̵H̴e̸y̵a̵.̶” He wrapped an arm around Mark’s shoulders.

Robbie came up behind him and pulled him away from Mark. “Anti, space.”

Anti groaned. “C̴o̵m̶e̷ ̸o̷n̶ ̸R̷o̷b̵!̸ ̴I̷ ̶c̴a̵n̴’̸t̶ ̵b̴e̷ ̵a̴l̵l̶ ̵s̵p̶o̵o̶k̵y̶ ̴w̴i̵t̷h̴o̷u̸t̵ ̸i̷n̸v̶a̷d̸i̷n̷g̶ ̴s̷p̶a̷c̸e̴.̷ ̷I̷t̴’̵s̷ ̷m̵y̸ ̷s̶h̴t̷i̶c̶k̵!̸”

“Shtick or not, it’s rude. We’re all friends here.” They paused to hear Mad still screaming as Patton chased him down the hall. “Well, most of us.”

“I’ve alvays vondered- does he use hugs as attacks or…”

“Hey Schneep.”

He nodded a greetings. “Jack.  _ Freunde _ . It iz nice to see you.”

“Dude. We can’t understand-”

“He said friends.” Chase broke in. 

“Wait- how do you know-?”

“I live with him. You pick up a surprising amount of German. Same with sign language, even though JJ usually just broadcasts his thoughts. You want help setting up in your rooms?”

There was a clattering of suitcases. Robin rolled in and froze. “Uh… Jack?” There was the faint sound of footsteps.

“Yeah?”

“Why are there four of you?” The sound of footsteps grew louder.

There was a thump as Mad went sprawling over the suitcases and landed on his face. “Owwww…”

Patton skidded to a stop five feet from the group, wary. “Do I need to call-?”

Chase shook his head. “Don’t worry. We’ll take care of it. Why don’t you take Mad back?”

Patton stepped over the fallen suitcase and picked up the man before the two of them walked around the nearest corner, Patton looking back at the group a few times in worry before their heads disappeared. 

Robin made a hand motion. “Why are there four- oh don’t tell me.”

Jack rubbed behind his head. “Well you know that cat carrier you wondered why I brought when we met up in the lobby?”

“No way.”

Anti’s eyes literally lit up. “Y̶o̶u̵ ̷b̴r̷o̸u̴g̶h̵t̶ ̷S̸a̴m̸?̶!̸”̴ 

“Yeah, he’s over by my door. I heard you guys and came running.”

Anti disappeared.

Robin crossed his arms. “You have got to be kidding me.”

Both Mark and Jack shook their heads as Schneep shrugged. Chase stuck out a hand. “Chase Brody.”

Robin took it and let out a long sigh. 

“What am I getting into working with you?”

Jack just smirked and they walked towards their rooms. 

 

 

A door opened in the hallway they had just deserted. 

A face looked out into the hall. A shock of brown hair flopped into his face. 

“No way.” The door slammed shut. A muffled call was able to by heard through the door as he shrugged on his jacket. “Steph! I’m going walking!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehehehe~
> 
> WARNING: Next chapter's full of yelling. It's very short, but Mad and Mat have some stuff to work through. And by working through I mean yelling at each other for various reasons. There's going to be lots of stuff from Come Together in there, so if you want to take the time to read it you can, it's the first installment in this series, but I'll be making a summary of it in more detail at the end of the chapter, so you can look there if you're missing some information. Just to warn you so you have something nice to watch afterwards because it'll be full of negative feelings and shouting even though it's only like 3 pages. I'll be linking some stuff too, but this is something that needed to happen for both of them so... yeah.
> 
> Thank you for reading and stay safe! Have a great day! I hope you enjoyed!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Yelling. Lots of guilt. I warned you guys last chapter that this one wouldn't be pretty. Pull up a lighthearted song, or a happy video, or whatever if you want to just as a precaution- you might want it afterwards if these things affect you a lot. Stay safe! Take time for yourself! There's a summary at the end if you want it too.
> 
>  
> 
> Song suggestion: Good For You from Dear Evan Hanson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5B9RWJor4c  
> (I may or may not have been listening to this while writing this. It influenced the outcome quite a bit but I'm happy with it.)

Mad dropped Patton off at his room and decided to keep walking. It was a nice afternoon after all, and the halls were suspiciously empty. He ran into a few of the smaller inhabitants of the Void, but overall was alone with his thoughts. 

Well, until he almost ran into someone, both cracking heads and falling to the ground. He hissed in pain, then held out a hand to the other as he got up. “Sorry about that. Wasn’t watching where I was going. You okay?…” He trailed off as Matpat himself dusted his pants off and got up, ignoring his outstretched hand. 

Mad took a few steps back. Mat took a step forwards. The look on his face made Mad turn on his heel and sprint in the other direction.  _ Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit…  _

He passed a very confused JJ in the Spedicey doorway right before Mat caught up to him. The two of them fell to the ground as Mad tried to scramble away. 

_ *Woah woah! What's going on here?!* _

Mad tried to squirm out of Mat’s grip but gave up when the man sat on him. “Hey JJ.” He panted. “A little help?”

“Nope! You are not getting out of this! You asshat.”

“Did Matthew ‘H-E-Double Hockey Sticks’ Patrick just swear? Isn’t that- oh wow.” Yan looked at the group in the hallway from their spot in the Iplier doorway. “I did not expect this. Hey Bim, can you pass me my phone?”

There was the sound of a camera snapping and Mad groaned. “Do you guys have to make everything a TV drama? Mat, if you want to talk to me, can we at least do it out of the hallway?”

Mat eyed him before lessening the pressure on his chest. Mad stood and fished out his room key from his pocket and opening door #3. 

“Heya. I’m back and stealing the bathroom for a chat. Sorry ‘bout that.”

Mat stepped in after him and blinked. “Oh, wow. There are a lot of you guys.”

Bing flashed him a peace sign. “Suh dude.”

Mare was nowhere to be seen, probably still in Phantom’s cane. King looked up and went back to his jar of peanut butter.

Anti glitched over, looking at Mat intently. He instinctively took half a step back and Anti smirked. “H̵a̶v̷e̷ ̷f̸u̷n̴.̵”

And the glitch was gone, back to sitting on his bed with his legs up the wall. 

Mad waved him over to the bathroom and gestured ahead of him. Mat hesitantly went ahead of him and the two of them just sort of stared at each other. Mad rubbed his hands together, trying to keep the nerves from overtaking his rational thought. “You wanted to talk?”

“Oh- right. I’m keeping this short. I guess I’ll start with most recent to otherwise. Uh-” he muttered something about wishing life had a script under his breath before sighing and placing his hands together under his chin. “You know what, screw plans. Why do you think getting me research years late is a good starting point of apologizing? What gives you the authority to apologize in the first place? And above all- why the heck?” He ended with a shout.

Mad flinched at the sudden increase in volume. But Mat wasn’t done. “Why the heck would you experiment on people in the name of science? What in the world would warp a mind’s perspective on reality and do that to someone? Why the hell would you kidnap my son?!” 

Images flickered in the back of his mind as Mat’s voice filled his focus. “You kidnapped a child from his own mother without a backwards glance, leaving her to call me in tears, and have both of us think our child, the light of our lives, was taken away! You have no idea what kind of a thing like that feels like, having someone who is literally a piece of you ripped from your life.  _ So on what grounds do you think you can apologize _ ?!”

Both of their visions grew blurry with emotion, but it was an unending torrent. “So you can’t just come to me and expect me to accept an apology when not six months ago you tried kidnapping a child. No. Don’t ever come near my family again.”

And he walked out past Mad, leaving him to stand there as his world spun. With his mind’s sole focus gone it began to wander until it was snapped back into place by a single thought. A single sentence. Well, that and the sound of the door slamming shut.

_ ‘So on what grounds do you think you can apologize?!’  _

He was frozen, as was the room. He has a small series of thoughts. First was:

_ Holy shit they heard everything.  _

Second:  _ Everyone heard that, it’s not like he wasn’t shouting at the top of his lungs. And with good reason too. I really am a messed up person. _

Third: _ I’m so screwed.  _

The door creaked open and the inhabitants of the room stared at him as he turned around slowly. Even Phantom and Mare had appeared to look. 

“Shit, dude.”

The people in the room only had to nod at Bing’s statement. 

Mad slumped with a sigh and went to go think in the closet. He really needed a closed space right now. 

He knew it was going to be hard but he’d never expected something like this.

Nothing like this. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summary: 
> 
> After the whole thing of last chapter Mad still needed to walk and clear his head. Of course, with things being how they are in this universe, he ran into Matpat, who chased him down and tacked him. They went into Room #3’s bathroom to talk. Mat, quite understandably, was absolutely pissed at him about stealing his son while he was insane. Mad was on the end of Mat’s yelling for that one. Mat storms out, and Mad has to deal with the repercussions. 
> 
> \----
> 
> Damn. That was a lot packed into a page and a half. 
> 
> Also, I am so proud of my characters. Like: it was never going to just end up happy between the two of them. They have too much history. But they stopped beating around the bush, ya know? They actually got onto a point where they could work on making things better if they choose to. Well, maybe. It's more if Mat wants to. He has all the right in the world to say no. And he chose that option. Mad has to finally deal with actual consequences, and that'll be hard for him. I think they're both growing a lot with this installment. 
> 
> (Also, I love Mat. This has nothing to do with how I feel of him as a person. He's amazing. There just had to be consequences, ya know?)
> 
> On a brighter note, next chapter will be fun. It's ending on a bit of a cliffhanger, and there's going to be a lot of drama, but less emotional bullcrap, yeah? 
> 
> See ya guys next time. Have a great day, and thank you for reading! Sorry for all of the heavy content lately. It just... needs to happen from time to time in this kind of universe. 
> 
> Have a good one!


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhanger today, sorry.  
> Also, i don't know much about conventions so feel free to imagine that this is all highly accurate.

The next morning was crazy. Lines galore, rushing around, somehow not losing anybody- it was a miracle it all worked out. 

Mad had opted to sit this one out and listen to some of the musicals he’d missed. It was probably for the better. Very few of them had actually managed to hear the entire conversation but the rumors that were flying made it clear that he should be left alone for the time being. 

So Anti walked around the convention geeking out over all of the games and generally having a fine time. If anyone knew that he was having fun he’d murder them, but he tried not to think about it too much. That tended to ruin the mood.

He was currently testing out a fun-looking platformer set to come out later that year when a commotion started at the other side of the massive room. He let out a huge sigh and gave the controller back to the developer. “T̴h̸i̷s̶ ̵i̵s̴ ̵a̶ ̶g̴r̶e̸a̵t̷ ̸g̵a̸m̶e̴.̴ ̸S̷o̴r̸r̴y̸ ̴t̶o̷ ̵g̸o̴,̶ ̸s̷e̷r̶i̶o̴u̸s̸l̵y̴.̶ ̴U̷n̵f̴o̶r̷t̵u̴n̸a̴t̵e̸l̴y̸,̵ ̴m̴y̸ ̸f̵r̶i̶e̷n̵d̷s̴ ̶a̸r̶e̴ ̴p̸r̸o̵b̴a̴b̸l̵y̵ ̴i̸n̷ ̷t̸h̴e̶ ̷m̴i̵d̷d̸l̸e̶ ̶o̴f̴ ̸t̵h̴a̵t̵ ̶m̴e̷s̸s̴.̴ ̵C̸a̴n̴’̴t̸ ̸w̵a̷i̸t̷ ̴t̶o̶ ̵p̸l̷a̶y̶ ̴i̶t̷ ̵w̷h̷e̴n̷ ̸i̷t̵ ̵c̶o̴m̴e̸s̶ ̷o̸u̵t̶!̸” He ran to go find out who started the whole thing. 

To his surprise it was all fans screaming for… Jack and Mark? What the hell? He sighed and drew his hoodie strings tighter as to not get recognized before shouldering his way through the crowd. 

Jack and Mark stood there in the middle of the crowd holding up a huge sign silently.

MISSING PERSON:

And there was his face, name, and some sarcastic descriptions. The fans all thought it was a publicity stunt for the Egos. A thing for their channels. 

Anti was just trying not to get pissed. 

He sent a text to Jack. 

 

**IAMATURTLE: Assholes.**

 

Jack looked down at his phone then said something to Mark. They rolled up the massive sheet of poster paper and walked in completely opposite directions, the crowd dispersing in confusion soon later. Anti walked up to Jack, teeth clenched. 

“I̸ ̶h̶a̷v̸e̷ ̴a̸ ̶p̵h̴o̶n̴e̶ ̵J̵a̵c̷k̸.̶” He fell into step beside him as they went backstage, flashing their passes. 

“Well sure, but I’ve wanted to do that for one of you guys for a while now. You just happened to go missing first.”

Anti sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I̴ ̶t̴o̶l̸d̵ ̴y̵o̶u̸ ̴t̷h̵a̵t̷ ̴I̵ ̸w̴e̴n̷t̴ ̴t̵o̵ ̶g̵o̸ ̶l̴o̷o̵k̴ ̸a̸t̸ ̶s̵o̵m̴e̶ ̶o̵f̶ ̴t̴h̶e̶ ̸v̵i̵d̸e̵o̷g̴a̷m̸e̵s̶.̵ ̶Y̷o̸u̷ ̷f̴u̷c̸k̴i̸n̵g̴ ̶f̴o̸r̷g̸o̷t̶,̵ ̶d̷i̶d̸n̷’̴t̷ ̵y̷o̴u̵?̶”

Jack sheepishly grinned and Anti got his answer. 

“G̶o̴d̵,̷ ̵y̵o̴u̴ ̴a̸r̴e̵ ̸s̶u̷c̸h̵ ̸a̷ ̸p̷i̷e̷c̸e̴ ̸o̵f̵ ̵s̷h̶i̷t̶.̶ ̵H̸o̵w̸’̵d̸ ̶y̷o̴u̶ ̵g̵e̶t̷ ̸M̴a̸r̶k̷ ̵t̷o̷ ̸a̸g̷r̴e̷e̵ ̵t̷o̴ ̶t̴h̶a̵t̵ ̷a̸n̴y̴w̶a̸y̷s̶?̴”

Jack shrugged. “Who says it wasn’t his idea in the first place?”

Anti facepalmed. “I̸ ̷h̴a̷t̵e̸ ̷y̴o̴u̴.̶”

“Yeah, yeah, you too. Hey look, snackies!” He ran off towards what looked like a free samples cart of game-themed cake pops sold strictly for the backstage elite. Those actually didn’t look too bad...

Anti was past him and at the unmanned cart in an instant. He grabbed one of the Spider-Man themed ones. Ooh, chocolate. He hummed in delight. A white chocolate filling! Even better…

He suddenly heard whispers that were supposed to be shouts. He turned to find Mark whisper-yelling at Mare. 

So he popped over in swirl of pixels. “S̷u̵p̷ ̴f̶u̶c̷k̶e̵r̴s̷?̷”

“Hey, Anti. You were there, so you can back me up on this. You know how we got a note from Mare and then the building burned?”

He fished a lollipop out of his pocket and tossed the stick of his cake pop into a nearby trash can. “Y̶e̷p̷.̶” He stuck the sucker into his mouth. Mmmm sugar. 

“So apparently that was a lead on Mad’s location after he repaired his device-phone-thing and broke out. I’m calling bullshit.”

Anti blinked. “Y̷o̷u̸’̵r̷e̶ ̶e̵x̵p̶e̵c̴t̴i̵n̴g̶ ̴m̴e̵ ̶t̵o̸ ̷b̶e̶ ̸a̵b̴l̷e̴ ̵t̸o̶ ̶h̸e̴l̶p̸…̵ ̷w̷h̵y̴?̷”

“I dunno- you tend to be able to know how to scare the crap out of people so I figured you might know what makes them tick.”

He rolled his eyes at Mark but looked at Mare anyways. Tense… slightly wide-eyed… He listened, hard. Heartbeat seems regular. Ugh, fine.

“H̶e̴’̶s̶ ̷n̵o̵t̶ ̵l̵y̵i̸n̴g̴.̵ ̴D̷o̵n̵’̶t̸ ̴a̸s̴k̸ ̴m̶e̴ ̷a̷g̷a̷i̵n̴.̶ ̵I̷’̴m̵ ̷n̷o̸t̶ ̷a̴ ̶b̶l̵o̵o̴d̵h̴o̵u̶n̶d̶.̵ ̵N̷o̶w̶ ̵i̷f̷ ̴y̵o̶u̵ ̶w̷i̸l̷l̷ ̶e̵x̵c̵u̴s̴e̵ ̷m̵e̷,̴ ̸I̷ ̶h̶a̶v̸e̶ ̵a̵ ̷g̷a̶m̵e̶ ̷t̵o̷ ̴g̸e̴t̷ ̵b̶a̵c̸k̸ ̸t̵o̷.̷”

He flipped his hood over his head and went to go find that platformer again. It was fun. 

 

\----------

 

The internet was blowing up. 

Apparently someone had accidentally photobombed a picture with Jack and a fan. 

It wouldn’t have been an issue if it wasn’t Anti on his phone enjoying another lollipop. Even though his hood was on he was at just the right angle to be distinguishable even without the glitches.

 

**_Fallout! after romance @ami_ **

_ Guys, holy shit. I got a picture with @the_real_jacksepticeye which was fantastic. Love you Sean! _

_ But I think I’ve found something. _

_ [Link] _

 

The post went viral in minutes. Theories flew everywhere, from crazy to pretty damn close to the truth. 

Anti was on twitter when he found out barely two minutes after it had happened. He almost choked on his sucker. “W̶h̷a̷t̷ ̵t̶h̴e̵ ̵f̴u̴c̸k̶?̷!̷”

He got a text from Dark. 

 

**Darkiplier: You have got to be kidding me.**

**IAMATURTLE: Dark, I swear I have no idea what happened.**

**IAMATURTLE: Had I noticed Jack there I would have immediately gone somewhere else while he took pictures.**

**Darkiplier: Fine. It was bound to happen at some point anyway- frankly, I’m surprised it hasn’t happened before. We have grown lax about security lately in such an environment.**

**IAMATURTLE: What should we do?”**

**Darkiplier: Whatever you do, you have to do it. It’s on your shoulders.**

 

Anti let out a sigh.“F̵u̶c̴k̷i̷n̵g̴ ̶s̸h̸i̷t̵.̴” It wasn’t what he wanted to hear, but unfortunately what he’d expected. He slipped his phone into his pocket and pulled his hoodie strings tighter as he walked towards Jack. Not quite what he would usually do but Jack had finally gotten a break from fans and he was walking towards the area where he was soon to do a panel. It was now or never if he wanted to talk to him in the next few hours. 

He had just tapped him on the arm when a hand pulled the hood of his jacket off of his head. He instinctively disappeared in a shower of glowing green cubes and static, reappearing in the rafters of the building. 

His hair fell into his eyes but he brushed it away and looked at the mob now surrounding Jack. He pulled out his phone and dialed a very familiar number. Damage control.

_ [Hello hello?] _

He rolled his eyes. “K̷n̶o̸c̸k̵ ̶i̸t̸ ̶o̵f̷f̷ ̸O̷l̷i̵v̶e̵r̷.̸ ̵W̴e̶ ̶h̵a̴v̴e̶ ̴a̷ ̶b̵i̴t̶ ̵o̵f̷ ̸a̷ ̸p̴r̸o̴b̷l̷e̸m̸.̶”

He heard the sound of a wheely chair.  _ [What’s up?] _

“H̶a̷v̵e̵ ̶B̸l̸u̸e̶ ̴c̷h̸e̵c̸k̵ ̵̵̵̵T̵w̶i̵t̵t̶e̷r̸.̴ ̷I̶t̷’̸s̴ ̴b̶l̴o̷w̵i̸n̵g̴ ̸u̸p̷,̸ ̷b̶u̶t̷ ̷y̷o̶u̴’̸l̵l̷ ̴g̶e̵t̷ ̸m̴o̶r̷e̷ ̸i̶n̸f̶o̷r̸m̶a̵t̵i̶o̴n̶.̸ ̸O̵r̸ ̶a̶s̴k̵ ̷H̸o̴s̸t̷ ̴f̴o̴r̴ ̸t̷h̵e̶ ̵g̴i̸s̷t̵ ̴o̵f̴ ̶i̴t̶.̸ ̸B̴a̴s̵i̵c̶a̷l̷l̵y̶,̸ ̸I̸’̶v̵e̸ ̷b̶e̴e̷n̸ ̷g̶o̸t̷.̶”

_ [You’ve been got? Grammar aside, we’re gathering the information now. Security cameras saw you disappear into pixels. Gotta say, not very discreet. We’re deleting what we can.] _

He sighed. “Y̶e̶a̶h̸,̵ ̴y̸e̶a̸h̶.̵ ̸S̸a̶r̸c̸a̷s̴m̴ ̷n̷o̶t̶e̸d̸.̸ ̴W̷h̶a̸t̵ ̸̶e̵l̷s̵e̶ d̶o̶ ̶y̸o̴u̷ ̶r̷e̵c̶o̵m̵m̶e̶n̴d̵ ̵f̶o̵r̴ ̴d̴a̷m̵a̵g̶e̷ ̸c̶o̴n̸t̶r̸o̶l̶?̶”

_ [Okay… definitely different than the usual situations but Red’s running calculations. What else- get him out of there now!] _

Anti’s head snapped up and he appeared just in time to see fans mobbing around Jack. He noticed what Yellow had instantly. Before he had time to think he was already in the crowd, grabbing onto Jack’s arm and appearing back up in the rafters with the youtuber in tow. He’d barely managed to keep Jack from falling into the crowd below when he saw the weapon being raised higher to account for their new position and his body moved before he could stop himself. 

He teleported in front of Jack in midair just before he felt a dart pierce him and he fell with nothing to stop him. Well fuck.

He felt a jarring thud that reverberated through his bones just as his vision went black. 

 

Jack picked up the forgotten phone with trembling fingers as he perched on the metal struts.

_ [Anti! Shit, what happened? Is anybody there?] _

“Which one of you is this?”

_ [Jack! Oh, thank goodness, you’re safe. This is Yellow Google- what happened?] _

Jack could do nothing but stare as the crowds parted to people in suits. “Who the fuck ‘re they-”

_ [Red, I need a visual on sector seven- oh wow. Fuck. Blue-] _ There was the frantic sounds of a keyboard in the background.  _ [Jack, stay where you are. I don’t know what they want but according to the software we can access they’re bad news.] _

“Well what do they want?! Why the hell did they-”

_ [Jack, they’re from the government.] _

He felt a sudden weight in the pit of his stomach. “Well how can we get him out?!”

_ [I don’t think we can risk getting another person in there with a 92% chance of them getting apprehended- Jack don’t you dare!] _

Too late. He scaled the wall like he’d seen Jackieboy Man do on multiple occasions, hoping to dear god he didn’t fucking mess it up and die. Somehow he didn’t. Wonder of wonders. 

He leapt in between the people blocking the area from sight and grabbed onto Anti, somehow managing to reach him just as a pinprick of pain flared in his neck and he slumped onto Anti, dead to the world as the two of them were put on stretchers and loaded into a nondescript van. 

 

All of the Googles swore at the same time as they looked through the cameras. 

“Statistics state that we have a 13% chance of being able to catch them before they can get away.”

Oliver rubbed his eyes. “That’s not exactly great odds Blue. And why I’m the social expert of the three of us.” He sighed. “For a computer I’m not the best at working with numbers. However, I don’t think we can risk it. You guys have any better ideas?”

Green looked up from his computer. “Activate tracker 43 or 57.”

Oliver blinked, searching through his servers. “You want to track their phones? I don’t think Anti’s came with him, and Jack’s probably will be confiscated-”

“What other options do we have?” Green retorted

He looked at Red, their best constructor. “Numbers?”

“Compiling numbers now.” They waited for an agonizing second. 

“Got anything?”

Red blinked, glasses flashing. “Numbers indicate 68% chances with tracker 57 and the activation of Module three.”

“Module three? That’s strictly theoretical, minimally experimental at best-”

“Try situation #43.AD-5.” Blue broke in.

Red stiffened. “Running. Construction complete. 36% chance singular, 82% in addition to the previous simulation.”

Oliver clapped his hands together then turned to the keyboard. “I think we’ve got ourselves a plan. Activating tracker 57. Blue, can you get Module three?”

“Module three activation confirmed.”

“Great. Let’s hope this works.”

They quickly got to work. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oho boy, this just got a lot more complicated. Feel free to yell at me in the comments if I've created a plot hole- it's rather likely. 
> 
> Also...
> 
> Sweet, got to use some Detroit:Become Human things for the Googles. Red's like Marcus- he can run probabilities and constructions. Blue's like Connor- he can deconstruct and find out what happened. Green's specialty is getting into servers unnoticed along with being able to navigate Social Medias expertly and efficiently, and Yellow, or Oliver, has a learn by example setup that AI's have in the real word- he's the people expert and the one generally most-liked by the rest. They sometimes work with Bing to either get an inside scoop on places for recon or if they need to do a lot of hacking- they have to make sure the news doesn't get out somehow, don't they? 
> 
> Next chapter's gonna be fun... Anti's quite a character. And we'll get a little bit more on how they all interact, which is always fun to look at, at least for me.


	14. ARROWS

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! Finals and the holidays do tend to be busy and all... but here you go! I hope you enjoy! It's a long one!

Anti awoke with a groan, hand rubbing at the place where- was that a dart? He plucked it out with his fingers like a massive splinter, peering at it. What the hell-? 

Oh fuck. 

What the hell?! Why had he done that?! He could have just teleported Jack away after he was hit- stupid stupid stupid! He was an idiot! 

He got up, faltering slightly at the added weight of a collar. Well shit. He rested his fingers on it lightly, trying to feel what kind of material it was. Seemed to be mostly metal. He could rip it off if he had to. But what was it? Tracker, shock collar… the possibilities were endless. 

So he mentally set the problem aside and tried to survey his surroundings. A blank call. Lovely. Oh hey, it was a padded cell. He bounced around a bit, giggling despite himself. That reached the height of his cell chart. He’d only had electrified bars before- padded added a whole new tier. Hooray. He might just beat Wilford yet.

Ooh, and this one was in the real world. How could he forget. Might even beat Wilford on that front too- no, wait, Mexico. Nevermind.

He walked around the limited space. Hmm. About three meters by three meters. Not exactly the greatest, but he could work with it. He put a hand to the padding experimentally. Seemed to be a type of foam covered in a layer of fabric. Huh. There were solid walls behind it- cold like metal. He looked up. Only a single camera? It wasn’t even in the center or rotating. He could see one major blind spot already. This would be easy. 

He heard a sound at the door. He sat on the floor cross-legged, waiting. The door hissed open, and someone came in, flanked by armed guards. 

“̴A̶w̸w̶,̶ ̵f̸o̷r̷ ̴m̵e̷?̸ ̸I̶’̵m̸ ̷f̸l̵a̶t̸t̴e̵r̴e̴d̷.̶”̴

She sent him an unimpressed look as she sat down the folding chair she was carrying and glanced at a sheath of papers. The door closed, leaving the guards outside. Rookie mistake.

“What is your name?”

He looked at her with the same unimpressed look. “W̶i̸l̵s̸o̷n̶ ̵J̵a̷c̶k̶s̴o̵n̷ ̵B̷a̸r̷t̵h̷o̵l̶o̸m̷e̷w̵ ̵t̶h̸e̴ ̴t̸h̷i̴r̴d̴.̶”

She cocked a brow. “Was that sarcasm?”

He cocked his head. “W̵e̵l̷l̸ ̵I̶ ̴a̷c̴t̷u̶a̶l̵l̸y̸ ̷m̷a̷r̵r̵i̸e̴d̵ ̸i̸n̵t̴o̴ ̴t̵h̶a̵t̴ ̵n̸a̷m̷e̵.̴ ̷M̶y̵ ̴f̶o̴r̵m̶e̶r̶ ̸o̵n̵e̸ ̷w̵a̴s̵-̴”̴

He flinched in surprise as the small currents of electricity that ran through his body spiked. Oho, so it was a shock collar! Pity those had little to no effect, him literally being a living glitch and all. Nice try. 

“Answer the question or I won’t hesitate to shock you again.” 

Well wasn’t she having a case of the Mondays. Was it even Monday? Depended on where they were. Where were they?

Anti sighed, feigning sincerity. “S̸a̸m̸ ̸M̶c̶L̸o̶u̴g̴h̸l̴i̷n̸.̷ ̷Y̷o̸u̸ ̸r̴e̷a̶l̵l̴y̵ ̷c̴o̴u̶l̸d̷n̶’̴t̵ ̶h̸a̷v̸e̴ ̸p̶l̶a̴y̸e̷d̵ ̴a̴l̸o̸n̶g̴?̷”̷

“Sorry to disappoint.” She snarked dryly. “You wouldn’t happen to be related to Sean McLoughlin, would you?”

**“** N̷a̶m̶e̵ ̷s̷e̸e̵m̷s̵ ̴s̴l̶i̵g̵h̶t̷l̸y̴ ̸f̵a̶m̷i̶l̸i̶a̵r̸.̵ ̶W̶h̵y̵?̵”̸

“According to our databases he tried to save you.”

“̵O̶h̴ ̷r̸e̴a̸l̸l̸y̷?̸ ̶H̷u̷h̸.̸ ̷W̴h̷a̴t̶ ̶h̴a̸p̷p̵e̴n̸e̶d̴ ̵t̵o̴ ̷h̶i̷m̴?̸ **”**

“Same thing that happened to you. He already told us his story. Why don’t you tell us yours?”

He looked at her. Too tense. Unflinching eye contact. Jesus christ, they’d sent an amature. He almost laughed at how easy this was. 

“̷I̸’̵m̷ ̵g̴o̸i̸n̸g̷ ̴t̸o̸ ̵c̸a̷l̴l̵ ̵b̸u̸l̴l̵s̵h̵i̵t̸.̶ ̶Y̶o̵u̸’̵r̵e̴ ̵a̶ ̶r̵e̷a̸l̷l̵y̵ ̴b̴a̷d̷ ̷l̶i̸a̵r̶,̴ ̴y̴o̷u̶ ̵k̵n̷o̴w̴ ̵t̵h̶a̵t̶?̷”

She grit her teeth and pressed a button on a controller. He faked a series of twitches as he felt the increase in electricity. So that was the remote. Interesting. 

“No more games. What the hell are you?”

He shook his head slowly, giggling. This was hilarious.

“What’s so funny?”

He let out a loud sigh and clicked his tongue as he let himself glitch for full effect. “Y̷o̷u̶r̵ ̴m̷a̶n̸n̵e̴r̷s̴ ̵l̴e̴a̴v̶e̷ ̷s̸o̵m̷e̴t̷h̵i̵n̸g̵ ̸t̷o̶ ̶b̸e̷ ̸d̴e̴s̴i̸r̷e̸d̶.̶” He stood up as she rapidly pressed the controller for his collar but he’d already torn it from his neck and tossed it away. He knelt down towards her, pleased to see the fear deep in her expression. 

“K̴e̷y̸ ̴p̴l̴e̵a̵s̸e̸.̶”

She handed it to him. He smiled. “T̴h̷a̸n̸k̵s̶.̶ ̵I̶’̷d̵ ̶h̷a̴t̸e̴ ̴t̵o̷ ̵a̸d̸d̸ ̶a̷n̴o̷t̷h̴e̵r̶ ̷t̶o̸ ̵m̴y̴ ̵b̵o̸d̶y̷ ̴c̷o̵u̶n̵t̵.̵ ̴W̶h̷e̷r̷e̸’̵s̶ ̴S̶e̷a̶n̷?̴”

She pointed at the wall. He laughed. “Y̸o̵u̶ ̴p̵u̵t̸ ̵h̵i̵m̸ ̶n̸e̷x̵t̷ ̵d̶o̷o̴r̸?̴ ̷O̸h̶,̷ ̸t̷h̴a̷t̵’̴s̸ ̴r̸i̵c̵h̴!̸”

He teleported next door to the sound of alarms. Huh. His cell had been soundproof. Lovely. Another layer to the chart. He grabbed Jack, who was just starting to twitch. Huh. He knew knockout drugs and gas had less of an effect on him, but this was just all too convenient. 

He teleported home, not missing the way the camera’s light had swapped from blue to red to green. Hello Google, come on down!

He appeared in the Lab. “F̶i̴n̶e̸ ̵t̵i̸m̷e̶ ̵f̵o̸r̴ ̷y̶o̸u̴ ̴l̵o̷t̸ ̸t̸o̸ ̴s̵h̴o̴w̶ ̴u̶p̴.̴ ̵B̸i̶t̶ ̵l̷a̵t̴e̸,̸ ̶d̶o̸n̸’̵t̷ ̷y̴o̷u̵ ̶t̴h̶i̵n̵k̷?̶”

They all swiveled around in their chairs. “We did not add your previous experience into the equation.” Red explained. “Nor your tolerance to knockout drugs. Our apologies.”

“Good to see you both back though. How are you feeling Jack?” Oliver said, looking at Jack with what almost seemed like worry. Jack just groaned and curled into Anti, who let out a huge ‘Aww’ just to piss the youtuber off. 

Green looked up. “According to a multitude of sources he will be experiencing symptoms comparable to a hangover. I will contact Doctor Iplier-”

“Doctor Schneeplestein has had more experience with the Septics-” Red countered.

Blue broke in. “Just get him liquids and food when he wakes up. Pain medication if he has a headache and turn down the lights. He does not need to go to Medbay for every single thing.” Anti shrugged but set him gently onto another chair, propping him up against the wall. 

Green and Red looked at him like the wind had been blown out of their sails. “ _ Blue. _ ”

Blue ignored them. “It is inefficient to argue. We need to work on the current problems. You were out for 3 hours 57 minutes 45 seconds 16 milliseconds. In the meantime we have returned most of the residents of the Void save Darkiplier, Wilford, Madpat, and Logic.”

“Logic and Madpat are confirmed to have returned in the foyer with Darkiplier.” Green broke in.

Anti frowned. “W̸h̸e̸r̶e̷ ̸t̷h̸e̶ ̷f̵u̷c̷k̶ ̸i̴s̵ ̶W̶i̶l̸f̷o̷r̷d̴?̵”

Red and Oliver both turned to their computers and started typing rapidly. 

“Bypassing firewall.”

“Wilford sighted in-” Oliver let out a sigh. “Baker’s Candy Store.”

The whole room groaned. 

“Sending message to Darkiplier now.” Red turned to his computer.

They waited and Dark soon appeared outside of the store. He went inside. 

“Get me a visual.” Blue ordered.

The right screen swapped to the inside of the shop with a few keystrokes. Wilford was holding a massive amount of candy in his arms and the whole shop was trashed. Dark grabbed him by the shoulder and tossed some money at the poor cashier before they both disappeared. 

One problem down. They turned to the security camera feed that had been in Anti’s cell. “Can you get into the servers?”

There was typing courtesy of Red. 

The only thing that popped up on the screen was a… golden pair of arrows? 

“W̶h̴a̵t̵ ̷t̴h̶e̴ ̷f̸u̶c̶k̶?̵”̵

The symbol popped up on the other screens in the room. Blue clicked on the symbol hesitantly. 

A bar to enter a password appeared. The Googles blinked in tandem. 

“W̴h̴a̶t̶’̷s̷ ̸t̶h̷e̴ ̵p̴a̶s̵s̶w̷o̴r̷d̷?̵”

They all shrugged but did the same thing to all of their monitors.

Anti reached over and double tapped on the password bar. A sentence appeared. 

**What is the meaning of life?**

Blue whirred. “ 1,040,000,000 results for ‘what is the meaning of life’.”

Anti shrugged and typed in something. “S̷t̶a̵r̶t̷i̵n̴g̵ ̷w̶i̶t̴h̸ ̵t̸h̸e̸ ̷l̴e̸a̶s̴t̴ ̶l̷i̷k̶e̴l̸y̸-̵ **”**

**Welcome to the** **Ambiguous Research and Response Organization for World Safety.**

His jaw dropped and he started to laugh. “N̵o̵ ̸f̶u̸c̶k̴i̸n̶g̴ ̸w̵a̵y̶.”

“How did you know the passcode?”

Anti chuckled. “I̷t̴’̶s̵ ̷a̵ ̶r̷e̷f̸e̴r̶e̵n̴c̸e̸ ̸t̶o̵ ̸a̶ ̵p̴o̸p̷u̶l̵a̷r̷ ̵s̶c̸i̶e̵n̷c̷e̷ ̵f̴i̶c̷t̸i̵o̶n̴ ̴n̷o̴v̴e̸l̴.̷ ̶H̸i̸t̵c̷h̴h̶i̷k̶e̴r̶'̴s̵ ̵G̵u̴i̴d̴e̴ ̵t̴o̷ ̶t̴h̶e̷ ̶G̸a̷l̶a̴x̸y̶.̵ ̴A̴r̵e̷ ̸t̶h̷e̴r̷e̵ ̷d̷i̸f̸f̶e̷r̶e̶n̴t̸ ̴q̵u̴e̷s̸t̸i̴o̴n̶s̴ ̸o̵r̸ ̷t̸h̴e̷ ̶s̸a̶m̸e̵?̶”

Turns out they were different. Every single one of them was a pop culture reference. Anti chuckled. “W̴o̸w̷.̶ ̶I̴’̸d̶ ̶a̷l̸m̵o̷s̴t̷ ̴b̶e̷ ̵i̶m̴p̵r̶e̷s̴s̵e̸d̸ ̴i̷f̷ ̵w̴e̷ ̶c̴o̶u̴l̶d̴n̶’̴t̴ ̴g̵e̴t̴ ̸t̸h̶r̴o̸u̵g̷h̸ ̷i̶t̶ ̴t̸h̶i̷s̵ ̷e̸a̵s̵i̵l̴y̵.̶”

“Get through what easily?” Jack was finally awake. Anti waved at him. 

“Y̸o̶u̵’̸v̷e̷ ̷m̵i̸s̸s̵e̵d̵ ̴a̷l̴l̶ ̶o̸f̵ ̴t̸h̶e̷ ̵f̶u̸n̷.̴ ̸W̶e̴’̸r̸e̶ ̷b̶r̶e̸a̸k̶i̷n̸g̵ ̶i̷n̸t̸o̸ ̷t̶h̷e̵ ̴w̷e̵b̷s̷i̷t̶e̷ ̸o̵f̶ ̵t̶h̵o̶s̸e̴ ̷g̴o̴v̷e̸r̶n̷m̵e̴n̴t̸ ̶g̷u̶y̴s̶ ̸w̶h̶o̸ ̷c̸a̵p̶t̷u̵r̶e̷d̶ ̴u̷s̸.̷ ̷T̸h̶e̸ ̵p̵a̷s̵s̷w̸o̶r̸d̶s̷ ̸a̶r̷e̸ ̷a̸l̴l̵ ̴p̵o̸p̵ ̷c̸u̶l̵t̷u̶r̸e̷,̴ ̸g̷e̸e̶k̶y̶ ̴t̴h̵i̷n̴g̶s̵.̶”

“You just implied that you are a geek, correct?” Anti waved off Blue’s comment. 

“W̶h̵a̵t̶e̶v̵e̵r̴.̷ ̵H̸o̸w̶ ̶y̷a̵ ̶d̷o̷i̴n̵g̴?̵ ̵B̸l̵u̸e̷ ̴s̴a̴i̵d̵ ̸y̶o̶u̷ ̴m̴i̷g̸h̶t̵ ̸f̸e̵e̵l̸ ̷s̴o̸m̴e̴ ̶h̷a̷n̶g̶o̸v̶e̸r̶ ̴s̵y̶m̴p̵t̴o̸m̶s̷.̵”

“Bit of a headache, but not too bad I guess? How are you awake earlier than I am?”

“R̷e̴s̷i̵s̴t̷a̵n̶c̵e̶ ̶t̴o̸ ̴m̷o̸s̶t̴ ̴t̸y̵p̵e̸s̵ ̷o̴f̴ ̴k̸n̶o̷c̵k̵o̶u̵t̵ ̷d̸r̸u̶g̷s̸.̴ ̵B̴u̸s̵t̶e̵d̸ ̶y̶o̴u̵ ̶o̴u̵t̵ ̴a̴n̷d̴ ̴t̷e̵l̵e̶p̶o̸r̶t̸e̶d̸ ̵u̷s̸ ̶h̸e̴r̴e̸.̸ ̷T̷h̵e̶ ̸u̵s̷u̸a̵l̴.̷ ̸H̸a̵v̸e̴ ̵t̵o̸ ̵a̶d̶d̸ ̶a̴ ̵f̸e̸w̸ ̸l̴a̷y̶e̵r̷s̷ ̷t̵o̴ ̸m̴y̴ ̸c̶e̶l̵l̴ ̷e̸x̷p̸e̶r̴i̶e̷n̴c̸e̵ ̶c̴h̷a̸r̸t̶ ̴f̸o̶r̸ ̸t̴h̸e̶m̵ ̶t̴o̵ ̷s̷e̷e̶ ̶w̵h̶a̸t̵ ̵k̸i̵n̸d̸ ̴o̶f̷ ̶s̷t̷u̶f̴f̸ ̴I̶ ̷c̸a̴n̴ ̷b̷r̷e̶a̷k̴ ̸o̷u̷t̸ ̶o̸f̴ ̵I̸ ̷g̸u̵e̵s̸s̶.̸ ̵T̴h̶e̵y̷ ̶t̵e̸l̴e̵p̸o̸r̵t̴e̸d̴ ̵t̸h̷e̷ ̷o̸t̴h̸e̸r̷s̸ ̵b̶a̵c̶k̴ ̵e̴a̷r̸l̸i̵e̶r̶-̶ ̴w̴e̷ ̶w̶e̶r̸e̵ ̶o̶u̸t̷ ̴f̷o̸r̷ ̷a̴b̸o̵u̷t̵ ̷f̸o̷u̸r̴ ̷h̶o̶u̸r̸s̷.̴ ̵W̶a̷n̷t̸ ̷s̷o̴m̸e̴ ̴w̸a̵t̴e̴r̷ ̷o̵r̸ ̷s̶o̴m̵e̴ ̷s̶h̴i̸t̷?̵”

“I’m good?”

“C̴o̷o̵l̶.̶̸̶ ̴W̵a̴n̸t̸ ̵t̶o̸ ̵l̷o̸o̶k̵ ̸a̴t̸ ̸a̷ ̸s̸e̵c̷r̶e̶t̵ ̵g̵o̵v̷e̷r̵n̶m̵e̶n̴t̵ ̵s̴e̷r̵v̷e̷r̴?̴”

“Is that what this is? I thought it was some fan site. That name is kind of dumb.”

“Y̷e̵p̶.̴ ̶O̶k̵a̸y̶, ̴G̴o̴o̵g̵l̵e̷,̸ ̵w̷h̶a̷t̵ ̸d̵o̷e̴s̸ ̸a̵m̸b̷i̵g̸u̴o̸u̷s̶ ̶m̴e̷a̶n̷?̷” They all looked up from their keyboards. 

“ _ Ambiguous. Adjective.  _ _ Open to more than one interpretation; having a double meaning. To be unclear or inexact because a choice between alternatives has not been made. _ ” All four said at the same time. 

Anti and Jack blinked. “O̸k̷a̷y̷y̵y̷y̷…̷ ̸n̴e̷v̸e̷r̵ ̷a̶s̷k̶i̶n̴g̸ ̶s̷o̸m̴e̶t̶h̷i̴n̷g̸ ̵l̷i̷k̵e̶ ̵t̷h̴a̶t̷ ̸a̵g̶a̴i̷n̶.̷ ̵T̶h̵a̶n̸k̸s̶?̸”

Blue frowned. “Feel free to ask questions, just without those particular proceeding words.”

Anti hit his forehead. “S̴h̵o̵o̵t̸,̷ ̷s̸o̸r̴r̷y̵.̶ ̶F̷o̶r̸g̷o̷t̶ ̷t̴h̸e̷ ̴w̵h̵o̷l̵e̶,̸ ̴y̴o̶u̵ ̶k̶n̷o̴w̴,̴ ̸t̵h̵i̴n̵g̸.̵ ̶F̸i̴n̵d̵ ̶a̶n̵y̶t̷h̴i̴n̴g̶ ̶g̷o̵o̴d̵?̶”

Oliver turned back to the computers. “Actually, yes. There are a series of encrypted documents-” There was a ping from the computer. “-and here they are. They seem to be… file folders? There are some on individuals- who the heck is… Wilson Jackson Bartholomew the Third?”

Anti raised his hand silently. 

“Okayyy… fake name?”

“L̵o̵o̵k̷ ̶f̵o̸r̵ ̶S̵a̴m̴ ̸M̶c̶L̴o̵u̷g̴h̴l̷i̵n̶ ̴t̶o̷o̴.̸”

There was a second of silence, then: “Yep.”

“D̴a̸m̴n̴.̶ ̶T̷h̵e̶y̵’̷r̶e̷ ̴f̴a̸s̴t̷.̵ ̸W̴e̴ ̷o̶n̷l̷y̴ ̸g̴o̴t̴ ̵o̵u̷t̶ ̸o̶f̵ ̷t̴h̸e̴r̵e̶…̴ ̶w̴h̴a̴t̸,̷ ̸f̸i̶f̴t̶e̶e̵n̵ ̶m̸i̷n̷u̶t̸e̸s̵ ̵a̸g̵o̶ ̵a̴n̴d̴ ̶i̸t̶’̸s̶ ̴a̸l̸r̵e̷a̶d̸y̶ ̵e̷n̷c̶r̴y̷p̴t̵e̷d̵ ̸a̵n̶d̵ ̷i̴n̵ ̴t̷h̸e̷i̸r̷ ̴s̵y̴s̶t̸e̶m̸?̵ ̸I̸t̸’̵s̶ ̴s̷t̸r̵a̴n̷g̸e̵.̴” Jack looked at the clock and almost had a fit.

“I’ve been asleep for _ four hours _ ?! What the hell happened at the convention? Is there anything in the media?!”

Anti reached for his phone and cursed. “I̵’̷l̵l̶ ̷n̶e̷e̶d̷ ̶W̵i̵l̵f̴o̶r̸d̷ ̵t̸o̴ ̶g̸e̶t̴ ̸m̶e̵ ̶m̵y̶ ̷o̶l̸d̷ ̵p̵h̵o̸n̷e̵ ̵b̸a̵c̶k̷.̷ ̶J̸a̴c̴k̸, ̴y̷o̷u̸ ̵h̷a̸v̴e̴ ̶y̷o̶u̷r̸s̶?̵”̴

He reached for his pockets and flipped out even more. “Where the fuck is my phone?!”

Anti sighed and teleported the two of them into Wilford’s room. So it was a disco night. Nice. 

Anti quickly found Wilford and went through the dancing crowds, holding onto Jack with a death grip so he wouldn’t get lost. “H̶e̸y̵ ̸W̶i̴l̶f̵o̴r̵d̴?̶”̸ Wilford raised a brow as he did some choreographed moves. He was pretty sure Jack’s mouth was hanging open beside him. “Y̸o̶u̶ ̶d̷o̴n̵’̷t̷ ̵n̶e̵e̸d̵ ̴t̵o̶ ̷s̷t̸o̷p̷ ̴d̸a̷n̴c̶i̸n̷g̴,̸ ̸c̷h̶i̷l̵l̴.̸ ̵C̷a̴n̶ ̸y̶o̸u̴ ̶g̷e̶t̴ ̸u̷s̵ ̴o̷u̵r̵ ̶p̶h̶o̷n̴e̸s̷ ̵r̶e̴a̵l̷ ̶q̸u̴i̵c̴k̵?̸ ̶T̷h̴e̶y̵ ̷w̶e̷r̷e̴ ̶l̶o̴s̸t̵ ̷a̴n̸d/o̵r̷ ̵t̵a̴k̸e̶n̵.̷”

Wilford nodded as he danced and their phones were back in their hands in a flash of pink. Man, knowing someone who could bend reality was great. “Ya wanna dance?” Wilford asked. Anti shrugged.

“S̴o̶r̸r̴y̸,̵ ̷m̴a̴y̶b̵e̶ ̴n̸e̷x̵t̵ ̶t̵i̸m̶e̸.̷ ̵W̵o̶r̶k̸i̴n̵g̸ ̵w̴i̴t̵h̶ ̷t̴h̴e̷ ̶G̴o̶o̷g̴l̸e̸s̸.̶ ̴T̶h̶a̶n̸k̷s̶ ̶f̶o̸r̶ ̶t̷h̶e̶ ̵h̷e̴l̶p̶.̸”

They disappeared back into the Lab, Anti partially covered in glitter while Jack was holding a pink Martini and looking confused like he’d never ordered one.

“Disco Night?” Green ventured.

Anti nodded and held up his phone. “B̷u̸t̵ ̸h̸e̷ ̴g̸o̶t̷ ̵u̶s̶ ̴o̵u̴r̴ ̵p̶h̷o̵n̶e̸s̸.̸ ̶I̵ ̸m̸i̴g̴h̶t̴ ̵h̴a̵v̴e̸ ̴t̴o̴ ̸e̷n̵d̷ ̶u̷p̶ ̷d̷a̷n̷c̴i̴n̶g̶ ̶t̸h̶e̵r̴e̸ ̵s̸o̵m̵e̸t̷i̴m̵e̵ ̸n̶e̸x̷t̴ ̴w̵e̷e̴k̷ ̴f̴o̸r̵ ̸a̸ ̷b̷i̸t̷,̵ ̵b̶u̴t̸ ̶I̶’̸l̶l̷ ̵l̴i̷v̷e̶.̶” Behind him Jack shrugged and tried the Martini, immediately sticking his tongue out at the taste and screwing up his face. 

“What kind of drink is this?!”

Anti grabbed it from his hand and dropped it into the nearest trash can. “B̷u̸b̶b̵l̸e̷g̴u̷m̸ ̴a̷n̶d̶ ̵c̷o̵t̴t̷o̵n̷ ̷c̸a̸n̵d̷y̵ ̶m̸a̴r̴t̴i̵n̵i̶.̴ ̴D̴o̵n̵’̶t̷ ̸a̸s̶k̷.̸”

“O-Okay. That whole thing felt like a drug trip, but okay. What about all of my stuff at the hotel? I had plans for tonight and-”

|We will send somebody to get it soon enough, do not worry. How are you doing? I see that Anti has kept his record strong.|

Anti huffed at Dark, who had just appeared in the doorway. “C̸o̸m̴e̴ ̴o̸n̶,̵ ̶y̴o̸u̵ ̸h̶a̴d̷ ̶t̴o̷ ̸s̴p̴o̵i̸l̶ ̴t̵h̶e̷ ̸s̸u̷r̶p̵r̸i̷s̸e̸?̴ ̷I̴ ̷m̴a̶y̸ ̸h̶a̷v̶e̶ ̵g̴o̷t̴t̴e̸n̷ ̷i̶n̷t̴o̶ ̴m̵o̴r̸e̵ ̷s̴i̴t̶u̵a̴t̷i̸o̴n̷s̴ ̵t̸h̶a̸n̸ ̷W̶i̴l̵f̵o̷r̶d̷.̴”

|You know that that is only because JJ is very adamant about sticking to the plan.|

Anti shrugged. “D̸o̶n̴’̷t̷ ̵c̵a̷r̵e̴.̴ ̶I̴’̶m̴ ̸s̷t̶i̴l̶l̸ ̶i̶n̷ ̸t̷h̵e̵ ̵l̸e̵a̴d̷!̷”̵

“What on earth are you two talking about?” 

They both turned to Jack. |Competitions around the office.|

“I̴’̵m̴ ̷t̶r̵y̶i̷n̷g̸ ̴t̸o̴ ̷b̸e̴a̴t̵ ̷o̵t̴h̸e̴r̸ ̷p̴e̶o̴p̵l̴e̴’̸s̵ ̵r̸e̴c̸o̷r̷d̴s̶.̷ ̸M̴a̵i̵n̶l̴y̴ ̸t̸h̶e̸ ̴a̸m̶o̴u̴n̶t̷ ̴o̴f̸ ̶t̶i̵m̴e̷s̶ ̷I̵’̸v̶e̴ ̸b̶e̶e̵n̴ ̴j̷a̵i̷l̵e̸d̴.̷” Anti said smugly.

“And you’re proud of that… why?”

The Googles shrugged as Anti’s smile grew wider. “O̵h̴,̶ ̵y̷o̷u̷ ̸k̶n̸o̶w̶,̷ ̴b̴r̴a̴g̷g̷i̵n̷g̶ ̶r̵i̷g̸h̸t̷s̶,̵ ̵t̴h̵e̷ ̸a̶b̴i̸l̸i̸t̵y̸ ̶t̸o̶ ̴k̵n̵o̸w̵ ̶h̷o̶w̷ ̸t̵o̸ ̴g̶e̴t̶ ̵o̶u̶t̷ ̸o̶f̵ ̷a̸l̸m̴o̶s̸t̶ ̸a̵n̷y̴ ̶j̴a̸i̴l̵ ̵c̵e̴l̶l̵,̴ ̵t̴h̷e̴ ̸u̴s̷u̶a̸l̷.̵”

“It must be easy with teleportation.”

|Hence why he is trying to beat Wilford. Their similar abilities prove for a rather even matchup even if Wilford has been around for longer.|

Anti looked at him. “̴I̸ ̵d̸u̴n̴n̶o̸,̷ ̵I̸ ̸t̵h̸i̷n̶k̴ ̷I̵’̶v̸e̸ ̴b̴e̸e̸n̴ ̷a̸r̴o̵u̷n̴d̴ ̴l̸o̵n̷g̸e̷r̴.̵ ̷I̸ ̵d̷o̷n̵’̴t̶ ̶r̴e̸m̵e̴m̸b̴e̵r̶ ̶h̴i̴m̸ ̵f̸r̷o̶m̴ ̷b̷a̶c̶k̵ ̷w̸h̶e̴n̸ ̷I̷ ̷f̴i̵r̶s̸t̸ ̷a̵p̵p̴e̷a̸r̶e̸d̷.̵”

|Can we not have this argument again?|

“Please?” Blue broke in, rubbing under where his glasses sat. “It is most irritating.”

Anti grinned and pushed back with his feet, launching himself and the rolly chair he was sitting in across the floor until they both disappeared into glitches. Oliver projected a semi-transparent screen and they watched as Anti appeared in the Jim’s corridor, scaring the wits out of all of them as he screeched like a banshee. Dark appeared in the feed to try and calm them down and snap half-heartedly at Anti. Green reached over and made another mark on a whiteboard filled with black lines. ANTI BEING A DICK-oh. Well that was almost entertaining. 

For people who were literally computers and could do almost everything digitally their office was a bit of a mess. There was a joke in there somewhere, but Jack couldn’t think of it. 

So he watched and waited, worries pushed to the back of his mind. It would be okay. He’d make a video on the subject or a twitter post or something. The fandom would forget soon enough.

Or…

No. That would never work. Brain, don’t even think of it. 

_ But what if it could? _

He tapped the table with his hands as he stood. Red looked at him quizzically.  

“Where are you headed?”

Jack grinned. “Going to ask Dark to call a meeting. I think I have an idea for my channel.”

The door swung silently shut behind him. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the cliffhanger!  
> See you around in a week or so, shall we? Have a great day!


	15. Chapter 15

Jack finished up his idea in the meeting room, turning around in his swivel chair. 

“-I know it sounds crazy, but the fans have obviously been wanting some Ego content. Why not? It would have to be carefully planned so nothing crazy happened, but I could see it working. A Spedicey Soap Opera. I mean- I’ve wanted to do more than just gameplays on this channel for a while, and you guys can get some good coverage.”

Chase nodded slowly. “The idea definitely has potential. What do you guys think? This affects you Ipliers too.”

There was silence for a few minutes as everyone thought. JJ raised his hand and lowered it quickly to indicate he wanted to get everyone’s attention. 

_ *How would that respond to recent events? The picture, everything?* _

Bim shrugged. “Good cosplay? It’s not out of the question. We could have Anti do the same thing he did for the convention and just add some contouring to make his face look slightly different and do a picture with Jack. He was pretty far away in the picture, so it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch. Yan, you could do the makeup, couldn’t you?”

Yan nodded, typing something on their phone. “Easy. It would take less than five minutes and get the focus off it with a single response. Then we could go all out on the show since it wouldn’t need to be heavily edited. We could even do a blooper reel with Jack or Chase made up to look like you, Anti. Maybe even throw in a collab with Mark at some point-”

Jack bolted up in his chair. “Oh shit! Mark! I completely forgot-”

|We’ve kept him updated. Your panel-|

“Well shit. A lot of people wanted to see that.”

|I wasn’t finished. Chase?|

Jack turned towards Chase. “You didn’t.”

Chase grinned. “I’m told we look very similar. I just had Wilford grab some temporary hair wax and did the ends brown where my hat couldn’t cover it. People seemed to not pick up on it You can probably make your next one tomorrow if you-”

“No, no, That’s perfect. Thank you.” 

Chase shrugged. “If I had a panel you’d do the same thing. Just don’t get captured by the government again, okay?”

Blue looked up. “Speaking of the government, we navigated through their camera system and got into their servers. Red and Green are running tests as we speak.” So that’s why they weren’t in their usual spots. The Jims had taken them over for the meeting, a rare relaxation in the rules. 

The room erupted into cheers and high-fives. Dark looked over, poised as ever. |After this meeting I would like a detailed report.|

Oliver and Blue nodded. 

Wilford held up a hand. “Everybody shut up!”

The room quieted. Hey, at least he wasn’t using his gun like he usually did. Wilford leaned towards the table, drumming up suspense. 

“Oh just speak already.” Yandere snapped. 

“What should the name be?” Wilford replied with an uncharacteristic whisper.

Everybody started talking at once. 

“A continuation of the Power Hour!”

“The Septic Show!”

_ *Around the Table?* _

Anti whistled to get everybody’s attention, the sound ringing in their ears like feedback. “I̷ ̶l̶i̴k̷e̷ ̷t̷h̶e̷ ̸S̷e̸p̶t̵i̸c̷ ̴S̵h̴o̸w̶.̸”̷

Marvin looked pleased with himself. Jack thought about it. 

“Has the same kind of ring to it as some of my other stuff. I like it! Thanks Marv.”

“You’re welcome!”

Dark coughed to get their attention. |Ideas aside, we have quite a bit to cover if we don’t want to have another meeting this week. Yan, can you and Anti take care of the cosplay in the next hour or so?|

Yan gave him a thumbs-up. Anti shrugged in agreement. Dark nodded in response. |Good. That will have that taken care of. Googles, can you delete as much information about us as possible from their archives? Clear as much as possible from their databases.|

“Of course.”

|Excellent. As for the rest of you- work with Jack and Mark to make the transition as seamless as possible. Help him get his stuff from the hotel, etcetera. Are we in agreement?|

Everyone nodded. Bim spoke up. “Can we work on a script too?”

Jack shrugged. “Maybe in a little bit. Let’s get the rest of this settled before we even try tackling that sort of thing.”

Bim sighed. “Fineee...” 

Chase pulled out his phone. “Okay. What is it you need done? Do you have any more panels?”

Jack though. “Yeah. One tomorrow from 12:30- 2:30.”

Chase typed that in. “Okay. Can you make it?”

Jack nodded. “Yeah- hopefully all of that have settled down by then.” He suddenly smacked himself in the forehead. “No; brain, bad idea.”

“What was it?” Marvin ventured.

“Just one of those stupid things that is ridiculously crazy. Don’t worry about it.”

“...And?” Chase was looking like he wanted to know what it was. 

“No, no. It’s never going to happen- it was just a random thought.”

|Oh don’t leave us hanging. Speak.|

Jack sighed. “What if the Septics decided to crash the panel?” He looked down at the table, expecting an uproar.

There was utter silence. Jack looked up. The Ipliers just kind of stared at him. Anti looked like he was actually thinking about it. Marvin and JJ had stars in their eyes.  

“... That could actually work.”

Jack physically jolted back in his chair. “ _ What?! _ Guys, wouldn’t that be putting you all in jeopardy?!”

Dark waved a hand. |Well, sort of. Very few people know about us, and as long as you didn’t outright tell anyone…|

Anti grinned wider than anyone had seen him smile in a while. “W̷e̶ ̶c̶o̴u̴l̷d̶ ̴h̵i̷j̷a̸c̶k̸ ̵t̵h̵e̶ ̵p̴a̶n̴e̷l̶.̴”

Jack frowned. “Wouldn’t it all be planned…?”

“N̷o̷t̷ ̵l̴i̴t̷e̶r̶a̶l̸l̵y̴.̷ ̷W̸e̵ ̵c̸o̵u̵l̸d̴ ̵m̶a̸k̸e̴ ̷i̷t̸ ̴l̶o̷o̷k̸ ̵l̸i̷k̵e̷ ̷w̴e̶ ̵h̴i̷j̵a̵c̶k̷e̸d̸ ̴t̷h̷e̴ ̵p̶a̵n̸e̷l̷.̷ ̷W̸e̴ ̶c̷o̵u̵l̵d̴ ̴m̵a̸k̷e̵ ̵i̷t̸ ̵t̶u̸r̸n̷ ̷i̷n̴t̵o̵ ̷a̶ ̵t̸a̸l̶k̶ ̴s̶h̶o̴w̸.̶ ̸W̶e̶ ̷c̸o̸u̷l̵d̴ ̶h̶a̶v̵e̷ ̸C̸h̶a̶s̴e̴ ̷d̸o̷ ̴t̴h̸e̵ ̸i̸n̸t̸r̵o̵d̷u̵c̸t̵i̶o̴n̵ ̸y̷o̴u̸ ̶w̷e̶r̶e̵ ̶g̵o̸i̵n̵g̷ ̷t̶o̶ ̸d̶o̴ ̸a̵n̴d̴ ̵t̷h̸e̷n̷ ̴m̸a̸k̸e̵ ̶i̸t̴ ̷s̴e̴e̷m̵ ̸l̷i̴k̶e̶ ̵t̵h̷e̴r̸e̴ ̵w̵a̷s̵ ̷s̶o̷m̸e̸ ̴t̸e̷c̷h̵n̶i̷c̸a̸l̷ ̵e̷r̴r̵o̸r̸ ̶o̴r̷ ̸s̷o̶m̷e̸ ̷s̵h̶i̷t̵.̵ ̴T̸h̴e̷n̴ ̴b̸a̴m̴!̶ ̵W̸e̴ ̸s̵h̷o̶w̵ ̴u̴p̵ ̸i̷n̵ ̷a̵l̴l̸ ̶o̵f̸ ̶o̴u̸r̸ ̷g̷l̸o̷r̸y̴.̸”

Blue and Oliver frowned. “But if they knew you were real… would it be much of a stretch to say that we were?”

|I’ll go get Mark.|

And Dark was gone.

“Would that put the entire Void in jeopardy?”

“I think the Fanders could easily roll with it. Most of the others aren’t actually all that pertinent in their fandoms. Madpat is basically a fan character. Grizzly and Dark!Dan only really appeared in that one video. Most of the others wouldn’t even be questioned.” 

With the end of that sentence Dark appeared in the doorway with Mark right behind. 

“Hey guys. What’s going on? Sean! You’re okay!” Jack gestured to the empty chair next to him, and Mark sat next to him, the two of them going in for a hug like they hadn’t seen each other in months.

“Oh, you know, just a normal workday. How’re you doing? What’s happening with your fans?”

Mark ran a hand through his hair and looked around the table. “They’re mostly wondering if I’m going to do a crazy stunt like you did. Somehow most of the information disappeared? The security footage, some of the pictures? Did you guys have anything to do with that?”

The Googles both raised their hands silently. 

“Okay then. Some of them are still questioning, but it seems a lot of them are dismissing it as a really good cosplay anyway. They seem to be settling down a bit on their own. Why did you bring me here?”

Anti sucked in a breath. “W̵e̷ ̷w̴e̴r̸e̷ ̶d̶i̶s̵c̵u̷s̴s̴i̷n̴g̸ ̷a̷ ̴p̵l̴a̵n̸ ̸t̴o̴ ̵c̸r̵a̴s̵h̵ ̴J̴a̵c̵k̶’̷s̷ ̶p̸a̶n̸e̴l̶.̵”

“ _ What?! _ ” Mark basically shouted.

“Yeeeaaahhhh, that was my reaction when they actually went along with my random brain thought.”

He turned towards Jack. “You suggested this? Dude, what the hell?! That could have too many consequences- you’re lucky only one creepy government agency went after you!”

Jack looked almost sheepish. “I mean- I’m fine now.”

Mark slumped into his chair with a groan. “Fine. Don’t you want to tell at least some of the other Creators about this?! Thomas, Ethan, Nate, you know… the people who could get affected by this?!”

Yan raised their hand. “I may or may not have been sending them texts this entire meeting. They were concerned originally, but actually seem to like the idea a bit now that I’ve given the details.”

Robbie shrugged. “I mean- I know I’m not an official character, but it sounds good.”

Jack blinked at him. Then at Chase. “Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Dude, you’re totally an official character. Have I not made that clear?”

Chase frowned. “No. You never said anything.” 

“Well shit. I guess that’s another thing I’ll be announcing at this panel. You’re part of the family, Robbie.”

Robbie just about gave the biggest smile he’d ever seen, (except for maybe Anti, but that was debatable), and happily attacked some of the snacks with renewed vigor. 

Mark sighed. “So what’s been going on? You Septic Bunch want to crash Jack’s panel and announce yourselves to the world. Anything else I’m missing?”

“We have found more information on the government agency that captured Anti and Jack. We are currently deleting as much as we can and ruining as many leads as possible.” Blue stated.

“... okay. That’s something. Anything else?”

“We might create a new series picturing the Septics similar to a reality-tv show. The Septic Show.” Marvin said. 

“Okay. That might make it so nobody sees you guys as weird aliens or something. Have fun?”

|Are you going to be ready for what happens when they reveal themselves? We might have to do the same.|

Mark ran his hands through his hair. “No, but I guess it doesn’t matter. I made you guys, so I should help you be the best you can be. You’re my responsibility.”

Wilford clapped him on the shoulder from his position around the table. “That’s mighty kind of you buddy. We can start off with a skit or something if it’ll make it easier.”

Mark just sighed and stood. “Is that everything you need? I have a panel in thirty minutes.”

Dark immediately stood and grabbed his arm. |My apologies for the inconvenience.|

Mark nodded. “Yeah, just don’t do that kind of thing without warning. It really messes stuff up. I’ll text you later, okay?”

Jack gave him a smile and a thumbs-up in return as they disappeared. 

 

\----------

 

Sean was pacing backstage. He had five minutes until his panel, and he was internally freaking out. 

He let out a breath as Felix came up behind him. “You okay pal?”

Sean gave him an easy smile. “Yeah, you know, pre-panel jitters. Happens every time. See ya around after, okay?”

“Good luck out there. See ya.” And he was gone. He felt a tap on his shoulder. An almost perfect replica of himself stared back in slight worry. 

“You okay Jack?”

He was going to respond but just nodded as the announcer announced his name. He gestured for Chase to go and clapped him on the shoulder. 

“Good luck out there.”

Chase smiled back and gave him a finger gun. “You too champ.” And he was gone. Jack settled in one of the chairs left backstage with a sigh as he heard the cheers of the audience, his attention focused on one of the screens showing the stage. There were a few glances of confusion from a few people backstage, but he ignored them.

He smiled as Chase did his usual intro. Who would have thought he’d ever get here in life? His dream realized. It was quite a thing to think about. 

“It’s amazing to see you all! Who would have thought that we’d get here, am I right? I know I talked to you guys only yesterday, but I have to say-”

Then there was a surge of feedback that cut off one of Chase’s sentence, and a completely different ending to the sentence came out of the speakers. 

[-t̸h̸a̵t̵ ̶i̵t̷’̴s̴ ̶b̶e̷e̷n̸ a̸b̴s̸o̴l̵u̶t̴e̸l̶y̶ ̵ _ r̷i̵v̸e̷t̵i̴n̷g̴.̶ _ ]

Chase yelped in surprise as the crowd cheered at the familiar voice. Anti’s face showed up on the big screen behind the ego and Jack couldn’t keep a massive smile from overtaking his face. This was it. 

[W̵e̶l̷l̴?̴ ̴D̶i̶d̷ ̵y̵o̶u̴ ̷m̵i̷s̵s̶ ̶m̷e̶?̴ ̶I̷t̸’̵s̷ ̵s̶o̶ ̷g̵r̶e̴a̷t̴ ̴t̵o̸ ̴s̶e̶e̴ ̷y̶o̸u̸ a̶l̸l̴ ̴i̶n̷ ̴p̶e̸r̶s̴o̸n̷.̴]

And with that he appeared on the stage in a cloud of pixels and the crowd abruptly silenced in one fell swoop. Sean moved over and grabbed one of the microphones as he ran out to the stage, holding a familiar hat even as the crowd let out a swell of noise in confusion. He handed it to Chase. 

“I think this belongs to you.”

And with that his fate was sealed. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. I'm thinking I'm going to post one more chapter then put this on hiatus for a while. Just long enough to finish it so I can have it wrap up all nice and neat without too much editing. I have a lot of ongoing things right now and not a lot of time to work on them so I'm gonna just pause it after next chapter so I can work on wrapping it up in the best way possible. It shouldn't take longer than a month or two, just something I want to do for the better of the story and my sanity. 
> 
> Anywayyyy.... have a good one and thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed! This was super fun to write! See you next time!
> 
>  
> 
> EDIT: Never mind the cutting it apart thing It would turn out like crap. Screw that idea. Sorry about the confusion.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!   
> Look. Forget everything I said. That was a mess. I'm getting the last parts written out so I don't think I'll have to put it on hiatus??? I dunno yet to be honest this thing is... *shrug* not exactly the most organized thing I've ever done. But hey, that's life.   
> I hope you enjoy! After this is basically a lot of wrapping up stuff really. Thanks for reading!

_ “I think this belongs to you.” _

Chase took the hat with a smile and replaced the one that sat on his head, the green hair prominently displayed in the switch. 

“I have to think that you’re right. Thanks a lot Jack.”

He faced the crowd, moving to throw an arm around Chase’s shoulders, grinning wide. “Well I don’t know about you, but I think we’re missing quite a few special guests! Come on out, guys!”

And with that the crowd screamed as Marvin, JJ, Schneep, Robbie, and Jackieboy Man all came out holding microphones and smiling. 

His heart swelled with pride as they took their seats on the massive couch left over from the previous panel and the crowd slowly quieted. “Here we are. Sorry for making you do that intro bit Chase.”

Chase waved a hand as if to physically wave the comment away. “Nah, if anything, I volunteered. But I do have to say…” He trailed off dramatically, looking at the people sitting with him. He completely flipped around to look at Anti. “Do you always have to be so cryptic?”

They heard laughter as Anti gave a shrug in response. “P̶a̶r̸t̸ ̷o̴f̸ ̶t̴h̷e̶ ̵j̴o̶b̶ ̸d̶e̵s̶c̸r̷i̸p̶t̷i̷o̵n̵.̵ ̴B̴e̸s̴i̸d̵e̷s̶, i̷t̸’̷s̸ ̷n̷o̴t̴ ̸l̴i̴k̵e̵ ̶a̸n̷y̸o̸n̵e̶ ̶e̴l̷s̵e̶ ̷i̴s̶ ̷t̵a̴k̵i̴n̷g̸ ̶u̶p̸ ̷t̵h̸e̸ ̷m̵a̴n̸t̶l̶e̶.̸”

Jack laughed. “I guess that’s true. You guys want to do a Q and A? We didn’t really talk about doing something like that but this could get awkward fast.”

Marvin, JJ, Schneep, and Robbie shrugged. Jackieboy pulled out his phone. 

“You all want to tweet it? Hashtag ideas anyone?”

JJ gave a thumbs-up.  _ *Hashtag HiJacked? Capital J?* _

“That works. You mentally heard the man folks! Send us some asks with #HiJacked!” The screen that had Jack’s logo on it swapped to display the hashtag. The Googles or the Jims must be controlling the screen. 

They all pulled out their phones to look at the questions. Anti let out a laugh at one of them. 

“You ready?”

“S̴u̴r̸e̶.̵”

“Who wants to start? We can go clockwise.”

Anti raised his hand and lowered it quickly. “T̵h̷i̶s̸ ̶o̸n̸e̴ ̶i̸s̸ ̶a̴ ̵c̶l̴a̷s̴s̶i̷c̷.̵ ̷H̵e̶y̶ ̵A̵n̵t̸i̴,̴ ̸a̵r̷e̷ ̴y̶o̶u̶ ̴e̴v̵i̷l̷?̴”

“Well are you?”

Anti rolled his eyes. “T̶o̶ ̸q̸u̷o̷t̵e̶ ̶L̶o̸k̶i̶: ‘̴I̷t̴ ̴c̵h̸a̴n̵g̸e̸s̵ ̷f̶r̴o̸m̴ ̸m̶o̶m̶e̵n̶t̷ ̵t̷o̶ ̸m̷o̸m̷e̶n̶t̵.̸’ ̶N̶e̵x̴t̸?̷”

Marvin looked at his screen and chuckled. “Are you aliens? No, we are not.”

“We’re fictional characters- being aliens on top of it would be a bit crazy even for us.” Chase shrugged.

“Pretty much. Next?”

JJ looked at his phone.  _ *How are you talking in our heads? Isn’t it weird?* _

“T̷h̷a̴t̷’̷s̸ ̶a̷c̸t̷u̷a̷l̵l̵y̶ ̴a̸ ̵g̴o̵o̶d̴ ̶q̴u̴e̸s̴t̷i̵o̴n̷.̷ ̴H̴o̷w̴ ̴d̷o̶e̵s̷ ̶t̸h̸a̸t̴ ̵w̴o̶r̷k̵ ̵J̸?̵”

_ *Well, it’s just one of the things I can do even if Jack can’t. Anti can do his glitchy thing, Jackieboy is a bit more agile than Jack, no offense, and Marvin is pretty good at magic, if not sleight of hand. I can use sign language and project certain thoughts like if I had a voice.* _

There were general ‘huh’s from the people on the couch. 

“W̵e̴l̵l̸ ̷t̸h̶a̴t̷’̴s̵ ̵o̷n̶e̵ ̵q̷u̴e̸s̸t̴i̸o̸n̴ ̷a̵n̵s̷w̶e̶r̷e̶d̶.̸ ̴H̸e̶y̴ ̵J̷a̵c̸k̷i̶e̶b̴o̸y̷,̶ ̶y̷o̴u̵ ̸h̸a̸v̸e̸ ̴a̷ ̷q̸u̶e̴s̷t̶i̵o̴n̵?̸”

Jackieboy’s face lit up. “Yes, actually! Uh, yeah, here! ‘Hey Jackieboy Man! You’re my favourite superhero, and I was wondering what your favourite thing is to do while you’re not patrolling!’ I like to bake when I can, even if I’m not that good at it. You guys want to answer too?”

Anti shrugged. “S̷u̴r̵e̷.̶ ̷I̸ ̵l̷i̴k̵e̷ ̴j̴o̵i̶n̵i̸n̶g̶ ̷a̴ ̴f̵r̵i̸e̸n̴d̶ ̷o̵f̴ ̵m̴i̵n̷e̷ ̵s̵i̸t̶t̷i̷n̶g̸ ̶o̴n̴ ̸s̵u̷r̷f̸a̵c̸e̸s̷ ̷t̴h̴a̴t̶ ̸a̶r̶e̶n̸’̵t̵ ̷m̶e̴a̴n̸t̶ ̷t̴o̵ ̶b̵e̵ ̵s̷a̴t̴ ̷o̶n̷ ̶a̷n̵d̵ ̶k̴n̸i̸t̸t̸i̴n̴g̸.̵ ̶M̴a̵r̴v̴i̷n̵?̴”

“Reading. There are a lot of good books out there. Schneep?”

“I do papervork and staying up to date on current explorations in ze medical field.”

Robbie nodded towards Jackieboy. “I don’t mind baking.”

Chase held up his nerf gun, which had gone unnoticed. “Take a guess! I’m not a bad shot either, so nerf wars are fun.”

Robbie cleared his throat to get their attention. “Uh- this one says ‘Was that photobomb a sneak peak?’ Believe what you want. Same to the other one that keeps popping up a lot. Sorry if that seemed rude.”

“It zounded fine Robbie. Zis one reads: Have you ever had to patch up ze ozers? Yes, I have. You wouldn’t believe what zese people get up to. Nobody’s really been seriously injured however, so zat iz good.”

“D̵e̴p̵e̵n̵d̴s̷ ̶o̵f̸ ̷w̷h̶a̸t̴ ̴y̷o̴u̶ ̸m̴e̴a̸n̶ ̸a̴s̴ ̶s̸e̸r̴i̶o̷u̷s̴l̶y̵ ̷i̷n̵j̷u̴r̴e̵d̴,̷ ̷b̴u̴t̵ ̸w̵e̴ ̴a̴l̵w̸a̴y̵s̷ ̸e̶n̵d̷ ̵u̷p̶ ̸f̴i̷n̶e̴ ̴i̵n̶ ̵t̵h̸e̸ ̶e̸n̵d̷.̴ ̴J̴a̴c̴k̵?̷”

“This one’s great: Anti, say one good thing about all of us.”

Everyone laughed. Anti scoffed. “Y̸o̵u̸ ̶s̸a̶y̸ ̶t̶h̵a̷t̵ ̶l̶i̷k̵e̵ ̸i̴t̴’̶s̶ ̵a̵ ̸c̷h̶a̴l̸l̴e̷n̴g̸e̸.̴ ̵J̷a̸c̷k̵,̶ ̴y̴o̵u̷’̵r̷e̴ ̶a̴ ̶c̷r̸e̴a̵t̶i̴v̸e̶ ̵g̴e̷n̵i̴u̸s̴ ̷a̴n̶d̷ ̸k̷n̵o̴w̴ ̴p̶e̶o̶p̴l̶e̴ ̸w̴a̶y̷ ̵b̸e̴t̷t̵e̷r̸ ̴t̵h̵a̴n̴ ̷I̷ ̸d̴o̷.̷ ̵R̴o̷b̷b̸i̵e̶,̶ ̴y̸o̶u̶’̸r̵e̶ ̵p̵r̸o̴b̶a̷b̷l̶y̷ ̸t̷h̴e̴ ̶p̴u̷r̴e̴s̴t̴ ̴c̶i̴n̴n̴a̵m̷o̴n̶ ̷r̸o̵l̵l̷ ̷I̸’̸v̶e̸ ̵e̸v̴e̵r̷ ̸m̸e̵t̵.̷ ̶S̴c̷h̵n̶e̸e̷p̴,̶ ̸y̷o̴u̶ ̶g̵e̴t̶ ̶i̷n̷t̴o̶ ̷t̵h̸e̴ ̵w̴e̵i̷r̵d̸e̶s̶t̵ ̸p̴o̵s̷i̷t̶i̵o̸n̴s̴ ̷o̷n̷ ̶o̸n̴l̸y̷ ̴t̷w̸o̵ ̸h̴o̷u̷r̸s̸ ̴o̴f̶ ̴s̴l̴e̵e̴p̸ ̷w̴h̶i̸l̸e̷ ̸s̶t̵i̶l̵l̵ ̶t̷r̶y̴i̷n̴g̶ ̶t̸o̸ ̸w̵o̴r̵k̴ ̷a̵n̵d̴ ̵i̸t̵’̴s̵ ̵a̷l̵m̸o̷s̴t̵ ̸i̴m̶p̷r̷e̴s̸s̷i̷v̶e̵ ̷h̵o̵w̷ ̴j̷u̶m̶p̶y̸ ̸y̶o̷u̶ ̶g̶e̶t̶ ̷w̴i̵t̷h̸o̷u̵t̴ ̸y̵o̷u̵r̷ ̵c̴o̴f̷f̶e̵e̷.̸ ̵J̸a̷c̴k̴i̵e̵b̵o̵y̴,̴ ̵y̷o̵u̸ ̵m̵a̵k̶e̶ ̸r̷e̵a̶l̸l̵y̷ ̵g̴o̷o̶d̶ ̴c̴o̷o̷k̶i̷e̶s̶.̵ ̴M̷a̵r̷v̶i̵n̶,̵ ̵y̷o̷u̷’̵r̵e̵ ̶g̶e̸t̸t̴i̶n̴g̸ ̶b̴e̸t̵t̷e̶r̷ ̸a̶t̶ ̷y̷o̷u̶r̸ ̶m̵a̶g̶i̴c̵ ̶t̵r̸i̸c̶k̵s̸.̷ ̸J̸J̶,̷ ̴y̷o̵u̵ ̷c̵a̸n̸ ̷g̸o̸ ̵f̷r̷o̷m̷ ̵a̸n̷g̶r̷y̴ ̷t̴o̵ ̷c̷a̶l̸m̶ ̴i̷n̸ ̴t̵w̵o̴ ̶s̷e̷c̴o̸n̵d̷s̸ ̸a̶n̵d̴ ̵I̶ ̵w̷i̶s̴h̸ ̴I̴ ̵c̷o̷u̵l̶d̴ ̷d̷o̵ ̶t̴h̵a̶t̷.̵ ̵C̸h̵a̵s̵e̵,̵ ̷y̸o̶u̴ ̶a̷r̷e̵ ̵a̷l̵m̸o̸s̷t̵ ̵b̶e̵t̵t̸e̷r̷ ̶a̶t̵ ̸t̴h̷r̴o̸w̷i̵n̶g̵ ̴k̸n̴i̷v̵e̷s̴ ̴t̴h̷a̸n̷ ̵I̵ ̶a̸m̶.̷”

Jack blinked. “I have to say, I did not expect that. Chase?”

Chase blinked and looked at his phone. “Uhhh… how long have you guys existed? Do you want to answer that question or...?”

Jack shrugged. “Go ahead.”

“A̴b̸o̷u̷t̸ ̷a̷s̴ ̵l̶o̶n̷g̷ ̴a̴s̶ ̶w̸e̵’̶v̴e̷ ̴b̵e̵e̴n̴ ̶c̶h̵a̸r̶a̶c̷t̶e̶r̵s̸.̷ ̷M̶e̸ ̷f̷i̷r̸s̷t̵,̸ ̴t̶h̶e̴n̷ ̷t̷h̸e̶ ̷r̶e̶s̵t̴ ̵o̴f̴ ̶t̷h̵e̶s̸e̵ ̷g̶u̶y̵s̸ ̸a̶f̵t̴e̸r̴.̴ ̶N̶e̴x̷t̵?̴”

Jack gestured towards him. “Your turn buddy.”

Anti shifted on his end of the couch. “O̶k̸a̸y̴ ̸t̷h̸e̷n̵.̶ ̷U̶h̵h̷h̷…̴ ̸d̶o̸ ̶y̸o̶u̷ ̶a̷c̵t̶ ̶l̶i̴k̷e̸ ̶a̷ ̵c̶a̶t̷?̵ ̷I̷’̴m̴ ̷n̷o̵t̸ ̶s̶u̶r̷e̴ ̷w̶h̴e̵t̵h̷e̸r̸ ̴t̷o̷ ̸l̸a̷u̵g̶h̶ ̴o̷r̶ ̵b̷e̶ ̴o̴f̵f̷e̷n̶d̴e̷d̶.̶”

“You act like a cat.” 

_ *Yessiree.* _

“Totally.”

“Anti! Hey, Anti, how would you feel if I stole your knives?” Chase teased. 

Anti straight-up hissed in his face. Then he froze, blinking rapidly. “N̶o̵ ̸c̷o̵m̷m̴e̸n̵t̶.̴”

They all laughed while he settled his way back into his couch, legs now hanging over the back and head flopping down until his hair almost brushed the floor. “N̵e̷x̵t̷ ̵q̷u̸e̶s̴t̴i̶o̸n̸?̷”

Marvin looked at his screen.  “Uh... I think the rest of these are all the same question. Do you want to get some from the audience?” 

Before they could pick one from the shouting crowd there was a chime from Anti’s phone. He looked down at that. “O̷h̷,̵ ̶h̶e̴y̷,̷ ̵i̵t̸’̶s̸ ̸M̸a̴r̶k̸.̷”̸

The crowd screamed again and he gave them a droll stare. “H̴e̶ ̶h̶a̵s̷ ̶y̴o̷u̴ ̴a̵l̴l̶ ̶e̵a̸t̵i̴n̵g̵ ̴o̴u̸t̶ ̶o̸f̴ ̴t̶h̸e̸ ̷p̴a̶l̴m̸s̵ ̵o̶f̵ ̵h̵i̸s̶ ̴h̷a̷n̸d̷s̶,̵ ̸d̴o̶e̵s̸n̵’̴t̶ ̵h̸e̵?̴ ̵A̴n̷y̴w̶a̵y̷,̶ ̷h̵e̶ ̵w̷a̴s̸ ̵w̴o̷n̶d̵e̷r̴i̵n̸g̷ ̵i̴f̴ ̸w̵e̸ ̸c̶o̴u̵l̶d̸ ̶m̵a̵k̶e̵ ̷t̵h̴i̸s̸ ̶a̴ ̶J̵a̵c̵k̸ ̴a̵n̶d̷ ̸F̵r̸i̸e̸n̵d̴s̷ ̴P̷a̷n̴e̵l̵,̷ ̷s̴e̷e̶i̸n̷g̶ ̸a̷s̸ ̶h̶o̸w̴ ̶w̶e̶ ̸a̸r̷e̵ ̵b̷l̸a̶t̶a̴n̶t̸l̷y̶ ̴d̶i̵s̷r̶e̸s̴p̶e̴c̶t̴i̷n̶g̷ ̸a̴l̶l̷ ̴o̴f̷ ̵t̷h̶e̸ ̷r̶u̴l̸e̶s̵ ̶h̷e̵r̴e̴ ̴a̴n̷y̸w̵a̸y̷s̶.̵” 

Jack shrugged. “Okay. Grab another mic, would you?” He called backstage. 

“Okay!” Mark shouted back. There were sounds from a the speakers. “Is it on?”

“Yeah, you’re good!”

There were some sound effects as he walked towards the stage. It was funny until the whoopie cushion when he sat down on the couch. He looked up towards the light booth. “Really?!”

You could all practically hear the Jim’s laughter from here. Then they realised they could hear it- through the speakers. Anti disappeared into glitches and they could hear him through the speakers. 

[Y̶o̸u̵ ̵h̴a̶d̶ ̸O̵N̴E̷ ̶J̵O̴B̶!̷] The his voice became clearer as he went closer to the mic. [H̶e̷y̵,̵ ̷M̸a̵r̵k̴,̴ ̴y̴o̶u̴ ̶c̴o̴o̸l̷ ̷w̷i̶t̶h-]

Mark waved a hand. “Eh, fuck it. Sure. I’ll deal with the yelling later.”

[C̴o̴o̷l̸.̴ ̸W̴i̴l̷!̷ ̸B̵i̶m̵!̴ ̸G̵e̵t̷ ̷y̴o̵u̶r̵ ̷b̴u̴t̴t̷s̶ ̷o̷u̵t̸ ̵h̵e̸r̴e̶ ̷a̴n̷d̷ ̵m̸a̸k̴e̶ ̷t̶h̷i̸s̴ ̸f̷u̴n̵n̵y̸!̴]

The two of them came out, looking at the light booth. “You sure champ?”

“You’re actually letting us do a bit?”

[Y̴e̵a̵h̷,̵ ̶y̴e̴a̵h̶,̸ ̶h̵u̴r̵r̶y̷ ̶i̴t̸ ̶u̵p̴.̶]

The two show hosts turned to each other with massive smiles. 

“HELLOOOO everybody! My name is Wilford Warfstache-”

“My name is Bim Trimmer-”

“And welcome to the newest episode of Blowing! Your! Minds! So here we have our favourite pal Anti-”

“Who is terrorizing some Jims! Well, at least he didn’t use the wheely chair this time, eh Wil?”

“Right you are Bim! Well, our favourite group of hive-minded egos certainly seem to have gotten on his bad side, haven’t they?”

“Yes, yes, not quite their smartest move. Can we get a camera in there please?”

The large screen in the front flickered to show two of the Jims sitting in chairs, with Anti resting a hand on each of their shoulders. The Jims were still with terror. 

[Aw Jim, do you think Dark Jim will be mad at us?]

[I don’t know Jim. I think Error Jim is very mad. Error Jim, can you please let us go? We’ll get Superhero Jim to make you cookies?]

Anti let out a chuckle. [I̵ ̶k̴n̵o̸w̶!̷ ̶L̶e̴t̸’̴s̸ ̶l̸e̵a̸v̷e̴ ̷i̷t̷ ̵u̴p̸ ̵t̸o̵ ̸o̶u̶r̴ ̸w̷o̵n̶d̴e̸r̸f̵u̵l̶ ̷s̷t̴u̵d̸i̶o̵ ̴a̷u̷d̸i̸e̵n̷c̵e̴!̷ ̸W̶h̷a̵t̸ ̵d̴o̵ ̵y̴o̵u̸ ̵a̷l̸l̴ ̸t̶h̸i̸n̴k̶?̶]

There were shouts of ‘Let them go!’ and ‘Come on Anti!’

Anti listened for a few seconds, hands still on the Jim’s shoulders. [H̷m̷m̵.̸ ̴A̵n̴d̵ ̷o̸u̸r̵ ̷h̸o̶s̵t̴s̶?̴]

Wilford spoke up. “You have to admit that they are rather handy to have around. You might end up having to pick up some of the slack otherwise.”

Bim nodded with a shrug. “And nobody wants to add anything to their schedule, you included.”

Anti thought for a few seconds while the crowd screamed about why not one person looked worried. [Y̶o̵u̴ ̶k̴n̴o̸w̸ ̸w̴h̵a̵t̸?̵ ̷Y̸o̶u̴ ̸h̵a̵v̷e̶ ̶a̶ ̶p̷o̷i̶n̶t̴.̸] He released the Jim’s from his grip and teleported down to the stage, the camera view disappearing. 

“I’m surprised you didn’t yell at them more.” Wilford said lightly, conjuring more chairs, all bright pink. He and Bim sat. 

“N̵o̸t̶ ̸a̵s̷ ̴f̶u̷n̵.̷ ̷B̸e̷s̷i̶d̵e̶s̶,̴ ̶t̷h̶e̴y̷’̴l̸l̶ ̷s̵t̶a̶y̴ ̸o̴u̸t̷ ̴o̴f̸ ̴m̵y̸ ̴w̵a̴y̵ ̶f̸o̷r̵ ̴a̷ ̵f̶e̸w̶ ̷d̶a̴y̶s̶.̸ ̴T̸h̷a̴t̴’̵s̸ ̵w̴o̴r̵t̷h̴ ̸i̶t̴.̷ ̵T̶h̷e̴y̴ ̶m̶i̶g̴h̸t̷ ̷e̷v̶e̸n̸ ̸p̵o̶l̸i̷s̵h̸ ̸m̸y̵ ̴k̷n̴i̴f̶e̸ ̵c̸o̴l̸l̴e̶c̴t̴i̷o̸n̵ ̴f̷o̸r̴ ̵m̵e̸.̵ ̴O̵r̶ ̷m̶a̵k̸e̵ ̵m̶e̷ ̴c̴a̵k̷e̵.̶ ̵T̷h̶e̵y̸ ̷a̶c̵t̶u̷a̸l̶l̶y̵ ̷m̶a̵k̷e̶ ̴a̵ ̶m̷e̷a̷n̵ ̴b̷o̷x̶ ̴m̸i̴x̵,̴ ̴l̷e̵t̷ ̴m̴e̶ ̴t̷e̸l̴l̵ ̴y̶o̵u̷.̸ ̴J̸u̸s̷t̵ ̶t̸h̶e̷ ̶r̵i̶g̷h̸t̸ ̸a̶m̷o̵u̸n̶t̵ ̶o̶f̷ ̷f̵r̶o̴s̴t̵i̴n̴g̴.̵”

“Okay then. Do you want to start wrapping things up? Answer a few more questions? We only have so much time.”

They ended up going overtime with the questions they received that day. 


	17. His Idiots

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... uhh... *slides this in* byeeee~

Dark was mildly annoyed, to say the least. But his creator had given the green light and he couldn’t do anything to stop it other than bicker needlessly. 

And that was pointless. 

He sighed internally, watching the stage from his spot in the shadows of the wings. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see a face he hadn’t thought he’d see here. 

|Hello Stephanie. This is unexpected.|

She flipped her hair out of her face impatiently. “Hey, Dark. Is Mad here?”

He blinked and shook his head. |He chose to not attend given the events that transpired last meeting. I believe he didn’t want to risk your husband’s ire.|  _ What would she want with Mad? _

Steph sighed. “Okay, thanks. I was hoping to actually talk to him here. Is there someone who can point me to him when we get to the hotel?”

|Possibly, although we are no longer at the hotel due to… issues.|

“Oh.” She looked genuinely upset by this news.  _ Just what was she thinking? _

|I do have to take the safety of my companions in mind however…|

She paused for a minute as the information settled in. “Oh, no, I won’t- no. If that offer is still on the table later can I pick it up?”

He grudgingly nodded. |If it is safe to do so. I have no immediate plans to do such as of now but that can easily be arranged.|

She flashed him a smile. “Thanks. You have my number?”

He racked his brain. |I believe so. If not, I am sure one of the others has it or we can get it through the Googles.|

“Cool. Say hi to the others for me, would you?”

|As you wish.|

She looked onto the stage. “I think you’re going to be pretty busy, so if it takes a while it’s fine. If at some point I could get your side of the story it’d be great, but no rush.”

He gave a curt nod before looking at the idiots on the stage- and they were his idiots. He suppressed another sigh but continued to watch. The fans seemed to be taking it rather well. That was good.

He resisted the urge to pull out his phone. The Googles or Bing would relay all of the pertinent information to him. He didn’t have to do anything but wait. 

_ ‘But since when were we good at waiting?’  _ Cecine interceded.

He slipped into the shadows and disappeared into the folds of darkness. 

 

\-------

 

Mad sat in his apartment, scribbling at a piece of paper. If he just added this little bit here....

There was a knock at his door. He swiveled around, screwdriver in his mouth and a disassembled handheld device lying on his worktable. He spoke around the screwdriver then spat it out and tried again. “Just a minute!”

He slipped the tool into his pocket and wiped his hands on the lab coat before going to see who his guest was. 

 

\--------

 

He listened to Dark as he screwed two pieces back together. “She actually wants to talk to me? I’m not sure if I can believe that.”

Dark gave a nod at that. |I don’t know what she is thinking, but you may wish to consider taking her offer when the time comes.|

He spun around. “What? Dark, You know what happened with Mat-”

|This is not Mat, Mad. This is Stephanie.|

He froze as a few phantom images flit through his mind. He shook them away and looked down at the tools in his hands. “I-”

|You can say no, Mad. I just said you might want to think upon it, not immediately take it. If it brings up memories-|

“No, I- thanks. I’ll think about it.”

Dark nodded and stood to leave. |If you wish to discuss the matter you have my number, do you not?|

Mad looked at the pieces of technology strewn upon his desk and looked back at the demon, a sheepish grin on his face. Dark rolled his eyes and scribbled it down on an index card, slipping it onto a nearby table. 

|Don’t electrocute yourself.|

And with that parting statement he was out the door. Mad raised an eyebrow and turned back to the device on his desk, rebuilding it piece by piece. 

 

\---------

 

They waited for Dark to return. Where was he? They needed to get home, and Wilford and Anti could only get a few of them at a time. 

They complained openly when Dark finally stepped out of the shadows. “Jeeze dude, we’ve been waiting for ages.”

Dark simply grabbed a few people and disappeared. They all were soon at Ego Inc, and Dark was disappearing into his room, lost in his thoughts the entire time. Chase looked worried. 

“Is he okay?”

The youtubers exchanged looks but both shrugged. “I dunno, it’s not my jurisdiction.”

Mark just shrugged again. “No clue what happened. You know more about him day-to-day than I do.”

Anti cracked his knuckles. “S̶e̶e̴ ̸y̵a̷ ̴n̷e̶r̵d̷s̴ ̴l̷a̴t̶e̸r̴.̴ ̵I̵’̷l̴l̷ ̷g̶o̴ ̸t̸a̷l̷k̷ ̷t̶o̶ ̶h̴i̷m̵.” 

And he was gone. 

 

\------

 

Dark paced in his room. |Why do I automatically try to make things better?| He groused, letting out a sigh.

_ ‘You got that from me. Sorry Dark.’ _

|It’s not your fault Celine. I was bound to take a few things from you after the years. Damien? Are you going to add to the conversation?|

_ ‘You shouldn’t have taken the offer. It’s not your job to act as messenger.’  _ Damien finally added. 

_ ‘Job or not Damien, it’s a chance for Mad to be able to not hate himself as much when he looks into the mirror. Isn’t that something? A chance to rebuild the few bridges he has left?’ _

_ ‘You still shouldn’t have done it. You’re meddling too much.’ _

|I know that Damien! But if it’s a chance for right to come out of it, isn’t it worth it?|

“H̷a̵v̸i̴n̸g̴ ̸f̵u̷n̷ ̶a̸r̸g̸u̶i̸n̸g̵ ̵w̵i̴t̷h̷ ̶y̷o̷u̸r̸s̸e̷l̵f̴?̵” Anti joked.

Dark gave him an unamused glance. 

|Don’t- not right now.|

“H̷a̷v̶i̴n̷g̴ ̵a̸n̶ ̷a̸r̶g̸u̸m̷e̵n̶t̸?̷” He was serious this time.

|Of sorts.|

“T̴h̷a̷t̷ ̷s̷u̸c̷k̸s̵.̵ ̵A̷n̴y̵t̵h̸i̸n̷’̶ ̵I̴ ̴c̷a̵n̸ ̶d̸o̸?̸”

Dark sighed and shook his head, 

|Unless you can get Damien to agree, well, no. I appear to have made a choice that caused dissent among the three of us and it is not getting resolved as quickly as I would like.|

‘ _ You can’t just fix everything in a moment you know.’ _ Damien said smugly. 

|Shut  _ UP _ Damien!| Dark snapped before he could think. He let out a long breath mixed with a small sigh at the end as the crackling static around him subsided. |This is rather one-sided for you Anti. My apologies.|

“O̵h̴,̶ ̷s̸t̴o̸p̵ ̶i̵t̸.̵ ̵W̸e̸ ̸b̴o̶t̷h̶ ̸k̶n̸o̴w̸ ̴y̸o̸u̸’̴r̴e̵ ̶n̵o̸t̸ ̸t̶h̸a̵t̵ ̶s̶t̸u̷c̶k̷-̴u̵p̷.̸ ̸N̴o̶ ̵‘̶M̷y̵ ̴a̷p̴o̷l̴o̵g̸i̴e̷s̴’̴ ̴b̸u̸l̴l̵s̷h̴i̷t̴.̶ ̸S̸p̴i̶l̵l̶.̸”

_ ‘I’ll talk to Damien.’ _

And she was gone, further into the depths of his mind. He let out as breath and conjured two chairs made of rolling shadows. 

|Have a seat.|

 

\--------

 

“S̴o̷ ̸y̸o̸u̷ ̵o̸f̸f̷e̸r̴e̴d̴ ̷h̴i̴m̴ ̸a̷ ̴w̵a̸y̸ ̵t̶o̸ ̸c̴o̵n̵n̷e̵c̴t̴ ̵w̵i̸t̸h̵ ̶S̵t̸e̶p̵h̷a̸n̷i̶e̴ ̷a̸n̷d̷ ̴M̷a̷t̸?̴”

|Yes.|

“A̶n̸d̶ ̷D̵a̵m̷i̵e̴n̵ ̴i̸s̵ ̸a̸r̷g̶u̶i̸n̷g̶ ̸w̷i̸t̷h̵ ̴y̸o̸u̷ ̴o̵n̵ ̶i̷t̶?̶”

|Yes.|

“W̷h̸y̷ ̴t̶h̸e̷ ̸h̸e̴l̴l̸ ̶w̴o̷u̵l̴d̷ ̶h̴e̷ ̸d̷o̸ ̶t̷h̵a̴t̷?̷ ̷I̵t̴’̵s̵ ̸a̵ ̸p̵r̷e̵t̸t̷y̷ ̷d̸e̶c̸e̶n̸t̴ ̷t̴h̶i̸n̵g̴ ̶f̸o̷r̴ ̵y̵o̵u̵ ̸t̷o̸ ̶b̵e̷ ̵d̷o̴i̸n̶g̶.̷”

|You try telling him that. He’s being more stubborn than ever lately.|

He rubbed at his temples. He was starting to get a headache. 

A plastic bottle nudged his knee. He looked up at Anti, who was holding the bottle of water. Where did he get that?

“M̵i̷g̴h̸t̴ ̵h̵e̶l̷p̴.̴ ̷Y̷o̵u̶ ̶d̴o̸n̷’̸t̴ ̸h̷a̴v̴e̴ ̸a̸n̸y̶t̶h̵i̷n̸g̶ ̶t̶o̷ ̶h̷e̵l̶p̷ ̴w̷i̴t̵h̶ ̸a̶ ̶h̸e̶a̴d̸a̵c̸h̵e̵ ̷a̸r̴o̸u̷n̴d̶ ̶h̶e̸r̴e̶?̵”̷

He shook his head and popped off the cap of the bottle. |Usually it’s because they need to tell me something, not because of arguing.| He winced as the pounding went up a notch. They usually didn’t set in this fast either…

“Y̶o̸u̴ ̸w̶a̸n̴t̸ ̵m̸e̶ ̸t̶o̸ ̶g̷o̷ ̴a̴n̴d̵ ̵m̸a̶k̶e̴ ̵s̸u̸r̵e̵ ̷t̵h̴e̵y̴ ̸d̷o̶n̸’̸t̶ ̶b̵o̴t̴h̷e̵r̶ ̴y̷o̷u̷?̷ ̷I̵ ̴c̷a̷n̸ ̷t̴r̶y̸ ̶t̷o̷ ̶f̴i̴n̶d̵ ̵s̵o̴m̶e̷ ̴p̵i̶l̴l̴s̵ ̷w̷h̷i̶l̷e̷ ̵I̶’̵m̴ ̸a̴t̸ ̶i̶t̵.̵”

Dark looked up at him. |That would be great, thanks. And I swear, if a single other person knows about me relaxing for once I will murder you.|

Anti grinned. “W̴o̴u̶l̷d̷n̶’̶t̵ ̸e̷x̴p̴e̵c̵t̵ ̶a̶n̵y̸t̵h̷i̸n̶g̸ ̷e̷l̷s̸e̵.̶ S̷e̷e̵ ̷y̵a̴ ̸s̵o̷o̴n̶ ̵b̷u̸d̶d̶y̶.̸”̴ And he disappeared into glitches. 

Dark growled at nothing as it started to feel like someone was jackhammering his skull. What were they arguing about? 

|Enough, please!| The throbbing dimmed down a bit and he sighed in relief. |What do you two need?|

‘ _ We still need to talk things out. We didn’t mean to hurt you. _ ’ Celine said. 

Dark sighed. |And Damien?|

_ ‘Still thinking it over. He’ll come around, I’m sure of it.’ _

Dark sighed and got up. |I suppose I should look after the idiots now, shouldn’t I?|

_ ‘You’ve earned yourself a break Dark!’ _ Damien and Cecine protested. 

_ ‘You don’t have to be there to fix every little thing!’ _

He tilted his head, the headache disappearing a little bit more with the decrease in animosity between the three. |It’s in the job description. I can rest later.|

_ ‘Dark!’ _

He ignored them as he opened the door to his room and walked off to find the others. 

They were his idiots after all. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I find it weird that I swap between Celene and Damien for who is the most angry and annoyed out of the two of them when I write things. I guess they just both have their moments. Welp. Hope you enjoyed, and feel free to scream at me if I made a mistake in the comments below! Or just for any reason! Have a happy New Year for those who celebrate it!


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This really is a shitpost intermixed with angst. Welp, I guess I've defined my writing style now.

Virgil pushed the cart behind them, bored, as Dee picked up some pasta. 

“Do we have to? We’ve had pasta three times in the last week-”

“No, because pasta is not the only actual food that Patton knows how to cook. Can you not hand me some pasta sauce?”

Logan rolled his eyes and put a jar of it into the cart. “It is simply not that difficult to cook. Follow the instructions and you’ve made an adequate meal.”

Virgil groaned. “Then you cook!”

Logan was spared his answer by a crowd of Jims heading towards the baking aisle. Oh, that was going to be awful for the Egos to clean up. Heh. 

Then Deceit noticed Remy and October with them and looked at Logan in dismay. “Please do not tell me I saw that.”

“You saw that.” Virgil piped up from his spot slowly rolling the cart six feet behind them. Dee groaned and smacked himself in the head with the box of pasta he was holding. 

“It’s not going to get all over the kitchen and Patton’s not going to be annoyed and I love it when Patton’s annoyed-”

“Chillax Dee- wait, wait, wait- is that Mad?!”

Dee froze as Logan calmly walked to the end of the aisle. “It appears so. Do not worry, he’s heading over to the baking aisle as well. You don’t have to interact.”

“But what about-”

They were interrupted by a rather snake-like hiss from Dee. Virgil looked impressed. 

“You have got to teach me how you do that. How are they so resonant?!”

“Excellent word.” Logan said, still looking way too calm, in Dee’s opinion.

“Thank you.”

Dee was alternating between being utterly freaked out and completely pissed. It was Mad. The guy who had literally fucked up his life. And he was fucking  _ terrifying _ . 

Fear won out. 

He grabbed the cart and started rolling towards the checkout, shaking his head hard enough to almost knock off his hat. “Stay, stay, just stay.”

Virgil and Logan hurried to catch up. “Alright then. Uh, Logan, can you grab-”

Logan tossed his usual jar of Crofters into the cart and took out his wallet. “On it. Dee, would you mind bagging the items?”

The job had never been done so fast. 

They were just grabbing the bags to pop back home when a familiar voice and hand grabbed a bag. “You want some help with that?”

Logan nodded with appreciation as the lab-coated man grabbed one of the heavy bags. “Thank you. If you wouldn’t mind-”

There was a thud as Dee dropped the bag he was picking up back into the cart and backed away. Virgil cursed. 

“Shoot, I didn’t think of that. Dee-”

But he was already gone into thin air. Mad sighed. “I should have thought of that. I’m sorry.”

Logan shook his head and grabbed Dee’s bag. “No, we’ve barely spoken of it. Our lack of preparation certainly didn’t help matters. We will speak with him. Virgil, if you could grab his bag?”

Virgil let out a dramatic groan but grabbed the bag off of Mad. “We’ll chat about it. Don’t worry man. I can’t promise he won’t do anything though.”

“He does have a reason. I can’t turn back time. If he wants to scream at me, it’s not the first time. Let him at least know that I’m sorry, even if it doesn’t help much?”

Logan nodded. “We’ll relay the message. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

They both disappeared, Virgil into nothingness, and Logan just… sinking into midair. It’s kind of weird to look at, seeing as there’s no framing in real life. He just kind of… sank down a bit and disappeared. 

Mad was left to walk home alone. 

 

\-------

 

Blue and Green switched on the video camera and wheeled over their respective chairs. Red and Yellow tossed over the suit jackets they’d borrowed from Dark. They all tied their respectfully-coloured ties. Bing wheelied in wearing his suit- black jacket… orange shirt… and a yellow tie. Oh god. 

“You are currently wearing the colours of a Halloween display. Are you sure you do not want to… reconsider your options?”

Bing shrugged. “Either this or yellow suit, orange shirt and black tie. Or orange suit, black shirt, and yellow tie. I think it’s the safest out of the three. This was originally black suit, yellow shirt and orange tie, so I don’t think you should be complaining Blue.”

Green raised his hand. “It couldn’t be black suit, black shirt, and orange tie… why?”

Oliver clapped his hands together. “Let it go guys. We’re paging through in a few minutes. Sit down and get ready.”

“Affirmative. Apologies Bing and Oliver.”

Bing waved a hand. “Chillax Blue. You’re so uptight! I should get you a pair of heelies. You’d be much better.”

They all paused as an image was uploaded to their connected servers. A clip of Bing falling down the stairs with Blue crudely photoshopped in his place. They all shuddered as Green sent the image into the file of CURSED THINGS. 

“No thank you. I will ponder this information at another time. Paging in 3….2….-” There was a clatter as Bing practically flew into his chair and the five of them ordered themselves presentably. “-1…… paging through to the Secretary of the President of ARROWS.” 

 

\-------

 

Mare looked up as Phantom randomly started laughing. He’d been staying in the cane with his… eh, fuck it, “brother” for a while now, and he’d only heard Phantom laugh out loud for a rather entertaining deal or hilarious book. (It was, admittingly, a really funny book, but still.) 

“What is it this time?” 

Phantom just relapsed in soft giggles as he held out his arm and gestured to him. They were leaving the cane? 

He grabbed the other’s arm and they disappeared, reappearing in a mildly familiar place. Before he could say anything Phantom had pulled him underneath a nearby desk, putting a finger over his lips and still shaking with silent laughter. Why were they in the Lab at Ego Inc.? And what was so funny?

_ Listen.  _

So he did. A faint voice came through the slightly-open glass door a few feet away from them leading into the Google’s office. 

“We’d like to plead for political asylum.” 

Sanctuary? Why would they need- oh. That shady government agency. That was clever. But who-?

_ [And why should we give that to you? And why do you need to speak to me? That isn’t our jurisdiction.] _ He didn’t recognize that voice...

_ That’s the Director of ARROWS. _ Huh. Thanks Phan. 

“Because we meet both the criteria of Asylum itself, as we’ve stated in correspondence, but we also believe that we can be of use to you if we make a very personalized deal.” Ooh, no wonder Phantom was interested. This  _ was _ entertaining. 

_ [And what criteria are those?] _

“Simple. We are being persecuted by a government agency- and I know you know exactly who that is. I would be happy to get a direct link to my superior, but I have a feeling the two of you would not get along. Does the name Wilson Jackson Bartholomew the third ring a bell in your systems?” But their superior was Dark- oh that was genius. Phantom hanging around these guys did have some benefits.

_ [I- yes. What do you want?]  _ They sounded slightly scared. He grinned as the power washed over him. Oh, fear was wonderful. He almost forgot it wasn’t something he needed from time to time. Phantom was still working on that. 

“Simple. Leave us and our agency alone. Indefinitely.” The voice went cold. Which one was speaking anyway? It definitely wasn’t Red, Blue, or Green- they didn’t have that type of inflection range. Yellow? He didn’t think that one had the heart to do something like that-

_ [Immediately. Yes. We apologize for any inconveniences.] _

“You call the kidnapping of our superior and his closest friend an ‘inconvenience’? Be thankful that he told me to let you off easy. Green, end transmission.” 

“Transmission ended.”

There was silence interspersed with Phantom’s silent laughter. 

“Excellent job Bing.” 

His mouth fell open and he had to clap a hand over his mouth to prevent himself from laughing out loud. That was too perfect.  

“Thanks dude. Also, I know you’re out there! You’re not subtle!”

Aaaand that broke Phantom. He burst out laughing, Mare following soon after. The door slid open and a pair of legs approached their spot under the table. 

“Natemare and Phantom. Security risk: minimal. Query: why were you listening in on our conversation?”

Phantom wheezed from his spot on the ground. “Because it was hilarious! They didn’t know what hit them! Also, using Anti as your superior? Genius!” 

Mare shrugged. “It was pretty funny.”

Bing wheeled out and looked down at them with a laugh. “Suh dudes. Having fun on the floor?”

Phantom realized at that moment that neither he nor Mare was exactly being kind to their reputation. He grabbed Mare’s arm and the two of them dissolved into smoke. 

Just in time for Anti to fall out of a vent in the ceiling laughing his head off. 

Red facepalmed. Was there no such thing as privacy in this place? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone who wants a good book recommendation, the book Phantom was reading was Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Anges Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. It's super funny and really good and about the end of the world. It's definitely a comedy of errors. 
> 
> Anyway... I'm thinking there are only going to be a few more chapters of this one. Not of the series, no, just of this. I find I prefer writing one-shots of this bunch. As always, thank you for reading and have a great day!


	19. Last Chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter! It was fun. Definitely going to write some one-shots in this universe, so don't worry, but let's wrap this one up, shall we?

Thomas was finishing up the recording of the next Sanders Sides. It had gone very quickly, with the Sides actually being physical and all. And the fact that they were very good at editing meant that with the added firepower they could get it out in a matter of days. 

“-guys gals and nonbinary pals! PEACE OUT!”

Joan and Virgil sat on the stairs. “Are we doing the end card now?”

Thomas grinned. “Heck yeah.” 

“What is the purpose of this again?” Logan scrolled through the script on his phone by the railing. “I do not see why we have to do such a thing.”

Remy sighed behind the camera as he moved the lights. “It’s fun hon! Besides, it’s either that or they find out themselves. Cuts out the middleman!”

“He’s not right.” Dee added from his spot at the top of the stairs. “It’s only illogical.”

Logan grumbled but acquiesced. Virgil made a face as Roman took a swig of coffee. “Dude. How you drink that stuff is beyond me. It’s so… sugary.”

“Just because you like it as black as your soul doesn’t mean the rest of us do.”

Patton appeared next to Dee, rising out of nowhere. “Kiddos, stop arguing. Are we going to need Picani? We could use him as an introduction.”

Thomas stopped. “That’s actually perfect. Do you have to pop back to get him or-”

“Nope! The fans were right about one thing. Lo, will you do the honors?”

Logan reached up with a hand. “Blue tie perhaps Patton?”

Patton grinned. “I think  _ knot _ ! Pink’s a classic Lo!” 

“Wait wait wait- is this what I think it is?” Thomas squealed.

“Yup. No fusion dance or anything though.” Virgil broke in, eying the distance between them and what would happen when they fused.

“But we totally could!”

“You have two left feet Patton.” Logan deadpanned, the two of them finally joining hands. 

“I thought I was  _ all right _ !”

With that they both disappeared, and Picani slid down the banister. “Hello!”

Joan practically spat out their coffee. “What the shit?!”

True to form, Picani wore the pink tie. Patton had won. He hopped down and moved to where the camera pointed- where Thomas was currently standing. Remy sighed and moved the lights back. “Are we ready?”

“I think so.” 

“Let me just get my script-” He pulled out his phone- ooh, a pokemon-themed case. Nice. 

“Pokemon this time?”

“I couldn’t resist. I must say, I am partial to the Steven Universe one…”

He looked at the lines Logan and Patton were supposed to say and muttered them under his breath. “Alright. Are we rolling?”

A thumbs-up from Remy. He smiled. “Excellent. Hello! Oh, I should have done my normal intro. Alas, we are not on that set. Oh well! We have quite a bit of news! Take it away boys! Oh, I’ve always wanted to say that.”

With a small flash of light, Patton and Logan were back. “Heya kiddos!”

“As you can see, we are both filling up the frame. Patton, throw your arm around me. Strictly to show that we both, in fact, occupy the same space.”

Virgil appeared next to Patton. “Don’t be weird. Hey, I guess. Thomas, this has gone off the tracks so fast- just get in here and fix it.”

Thomas shrugged and moved in on Logan’s side. “Hey guys! As you can see, we have quite the party here! I’m sure you all know about what happened at Vidcon. Well, they’re here too! Say hi guys!”

He grabbed the camera and turned it around to point at Dee, Remy, and Roman, who sat on the stairs. Joan waved. 

“Hello glorious viewers!”

Dee just blinked. “Oh, uh- hi. I guess. This isn’t weird at all.”

Remy just spun the camera around to point back at them. “There’s literally no reason for me to be here so bye y’all.” And he was gone. 

Virgil sighed. “Goddammit Rem. Anyway…” 

“YEET!”

And that was where the video ended- a slideshow of their surprised- or, not, in Logan’s case- faces as Roman dove in front of the frame, knocking the camera over in the process. 

“Roman!”

“Holy fuck!”

“This is going to be  _ great _ to edit.”

“The camera!”

“I caught it! It’s all good!”

“Yeet? Really? Of all the memes?”

“Don’t add that one to your vocab cards Logan.”

 

\--------

 

|Have you thought about my offer?|

“Yeah. I’m gonna have to decline. I appreciate it and all but…”

|It’s not the right time yet. I understand. I’ll pass along the message. Have a good day Mad.|

“You too Dark.”

|If you change your mind I’ll be happy to facilitate.|

“Thanks Dark. See you at the party?”

|I should hope so. It is at my headquarters.|

 

\---------

 

The party was going to officially start in an hour but the room was still packed with people. There was a surprising crowd watching the monopoly table. 

“H̶A̵!̶ ̴T̵a̴k̶e̷ ̸t̵h̷a̵t̸ ̶y̴o̵u̵ ̷b̶a̵s̵t̷a̶r̶d̷!̶”

“I never should have traded you the yellow for the orange…”

Dark was content with only the railroads and the two brown spots, as well as a blue and a red. Why those- oh. They both had hotels on them. That was pretty clever. 

“Alright Dark, your turn.”

He moved his piece according to the number, landing squarely in the first green. He bought it in an instant. 

“Doubles.”

He rolled again. A… three. He landed on the only other green he didn’t have, buying it from a very stunned bank (Google) and getting one of the best monopolies in the game. 

“T̸H̷E̴ ̵F̶U̴C̶K̵?̶!̸”

The entire game Dark had been calm and collected. Unruffled. A grin spread across his face that reminded Anti eerily of his first days as an Ego back before Dark had gotten as much class. |Checkmate bitches.|

A few mouths fell open at the sudden breach of decorum. Host raised a brow. “Dark makes an almost impossible move. Everyone is shocked.”

“No shit!” Marvin swore, throwing down his hands. “How the fuck!”

“Wait, what happened?” Someone called out.

“D̴a̶r̵k̴ ̷f̴u̶c̸k̷i̴n̴g̸ ̵g̶o̷t̷ ̴a̵ ̴m̸o̶n̸o̵p̷o̶l̵y̸ ̴o̸n̸ ̷g̸r̸e̸e̴n̶. ̵H̴o̴w̶?̵!̴”

Dark simply smirked, going back to his usual level of cool. |Sheer luck.|

Anti stood. “B̸u̷l̵l̶s̸h̶i̵t̵.̴”

Dark blinked. |Are you accusing me of cheating? How crude.|

Host sat there as everybody instinctively scrambled back. “C̷r̷u̴d̵e̵?̶ ̵W̴e̴l̵l̶ ̴s̷o̸’̵s̶ ̸c̴h̶e̸a̵t̵i̷n̴g̵.̶”

|Brat.|

“C̶h̴e̴a̸t̵e̷r̷.̶”

|Turtle.|

“G̵a̵r̸b̸a̴g̶e̴ ̶p̶e̶r̸s̸o̴n̸.̷”

|Garbage person? Really?|

“Y̵o̶u̴ ̴s̷a̴i̸d̴ ̸i̴t̴ ̵I̶p̷l̵i̷e̶r̷.̷”

|Fine by me Septic. If I remember right, I was talking about you.|

There was a tense silence as Anti stared down at the ever calm Darkiplier. 

“F̴u̷c̴k̸ ̸y̷o̴u̵.̴” He took his seat.

Dark inspected his money. |I came here to have a good time and I’m honestly feeling so attacked right now.|

You could hear a pin drop. 

“Did you just quote a meme?” Logan was frantically scribbling down the encounter on a notecard.

Bing gave a fake sniff. “I am so proud of you right now.”

Dark handed the dice to Anti. |Your move.|

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was fun guys! It definitely went all sorts of ways, but I had fun with it. Lots of character development.   
> See y'all in the next one!~ Thanks for reading, and have a lovely day!

**Author's Note:**

> Let's just say I was somewhat inspired by the Fander's fusions and this happened. I don't know either. I wrote this first bit in like three hours okay?!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading, and have a great day!


End file.
